Of Ralts and Gallade
by InsanitySilver
Summary: Two years have passed since the defeat of Team Flare, and all regions have enjoyed a period of peace until trainers across Sinnoh start disappearing, forcing a ralts to team up with his worst-enemy to rescue his trainer. Unfortunately, time isn't on their side anymore.
1. The End

**Of Ralts and Gallade**

 **A/N:** O'RAG is actually a completed fic. It took me too long to finish, but it's done and sitting in my hard drive in all its glory. To make a long story shorter, I'll be uploading chapters Monday morning, so we can all start the week off well and you'll never have to worry about this fic being left incomplete.

 **Chapter 1: The End**

 **(***)**

The world materialized in front of me as I plummeted towards the grey floor. The sudden overload of all my senses hit me like a freight train, sending sparks shooting across my vision as I collided with the concrete.

"It's just a ralts!" an irritated voice said behind me. I tried to comprehend the chaotic surroundings, my brows crashing together in confusion. The smell of chemicals and burning flesh clung to the back of my throat, suffocating me. I gagged, rolling out of the way of stomping feet. Shouting trainers ran down the hallway, pokémon launching attacks every which way. A spray of boiling water crashed into the wall above, raining down on me. I shouted as the burning liquid singed my white legs, pulling myself away with my arms and pressing as deeply into the concrete wall as I could. My head pounded, drowning out my thoughts, and my joints ached.

Nothing made sens—memories flooded back, knocking the wind out of my chest with their intensity. I didn't know where I was, but I knew why I was there. Shaking, I looked across the hall to see who'd released me from my poké ball.

Two men stood across from me in the doorway of another room, holding a sack of poké balls between them and releasing the pokémon inside as quickly as they could.

I froze and my heart stopped; my breath caught in my throat. I recognized those retina-burning orange hoodies and the black logos on the back. The Reliance grunt uniform. My frame quivered as I began to comprehend the situation, I looked up and down the busy hallway and up at the trainers running past. My trainer wasn't one of them.

The first man—taller and brawnier than the second-cursed as he reached the bottom of the bag, hundreds of empty poké balls strewn behind him. "I was kinda hoping they'd have slipped up and put something strong in here," he grumbled, tossing it behind him with a scowl.

"What are you talking about?" asked the second, younger man.

The older man rolled his eyes, running a hand through his greased brown hair. "Well, I thought I might be able to get something good out of this, but I suppose I'll have to settle for something weak," he grumbled, looking up. His eyes locked with mine. "I suppose a ralts could do," he said with a shrug, picking himself off the ground and stepping towards me.

The younger man looked horrified, grabbing his companion by the arm and holding him back. "You're seriously going to steal someone's pokémon? After all this?" he asked with wide eyes.

The man jerked away from him. "Don't get all high and mighty on me, kid. Your hands are as dirty as mine. No harm in grabbing myself a little parting gift," he said, pushing past the trainers and pokémon racing down the hallway to get close to me.

My heart raced, increasing in speed until it felt more like a constant thrum. I sat frozen in place, screaming for my body to move, but it wouldn't.

"I can't let you do that," the younger man, called.

The first man raised his hand without looking back, giving the teen the middle finger as he stepped closer to me. Behind him, the black-haired boy reached for one of the poké balls strapped to his thigh. The flow of trainers and pokémon rushing down the hall between us began to lessen.

"Go, Yanma!" the Reliance boy shouted, and the sound of his voice over the chaos caused the man to pause. The large bug type flitted around the boy's shoulder, watching the older man with its horrifying compound eyes.

The man rounded on the boy, snarling. "You really want to play it this way, kid?" he growled, reaching for his own pokémon. Just as the tips of his fingers brushed the nearest poké ball, the teen pointed at the man, shouting, "Yanma, use Super Sonic!"

All at once, the spell on my body broke. Yanma began to pump his wings until they blurred. I tore down the now empty hallway, panic flooding my body and electrifying every cell. My heart throbbed in my ears, and my lungs couldn't expand far enough. Something exploded behind me, sending me flying forward. My knees ground against the concrete, sending tears to my eyes, but I didn't care. Without looking back I scrambled back to my feet, hurtling down the hall as fast as my stubby legs could carry me.

Sirens blared, causing me to jump. They roared and I could feel every whine in my chest. Scarlet lights by the ceiling flicked on, metallic pieces inside circling and filling the grey hall with constantly changing crimson light. I ran down the rest of the hallway, fingers jammed in my ear slots trying to block the deafening wail.

I rounded the corner, spilling into an expansive room, filled with humans and pokémon shouting and fighting each other. The electrical lights had blown, showering sparks on the people below and covering the room in darkness. Every three or so seconds the room filled with stark crimson light, exposing the chaos, and then sirens blared before plunging the room back into darkness. Large metal cages lay in shambles against the wall, and futuristic pieces of large science equipment lay broken all over the battlefield. Lightning rained from the sky, filling the room with flashes of light. Thick vines curled and crushed anything in their path while boulders shot across the room, burying themselves in the opposite wall with loud crashes.

Adults wearing orange hoodies and lab coats tried to coral the trainers, pushing them away from the large, garage-style door that consumed the opposite end of the room.

The sight paralyzed me, rooting me to the ground. My chest heaved faster, trying desperately to absorb enough air. The room spun, and my throat closed, choking me.

Sweaty hands yanked me off the ground, pressing me to an equally damp chest.

"Hold on little Claire's Ralts!" shouted a horribly familiar voice. Shivers wracked my body as I dared to look up. In the flashing light I could see that distinct flabby neck and nonexistent jaw line. The greasy, oily, stringy green hair that haunted my nightmares. His hot breath condensed on my head, making me want to vomit. He smelled like Lysol, body order, and delusions. Of all people, it _had_ to be Hilton.

I jerked in his arms as he ran with heavy, plodding steps through the battlefield. I shouted angrily, struggling against his thick arms. A volley of glowing stars shot over his head, missing the teenager by less than an inch. He was going to get us killed!

"I've got you, Claire's Ralts!" he called over the bedlam, pressing me even tighter against his sweat-soaked body.

"How did they escape‽" shouted one of the Reliance grunts as she passed.

"Someone call the admins!" shouted another over the roar of attacks. The entire room began to shake, causing Hilton to stumble forward. He rammed into the wall, squashing my arm between the concrete and his heavy body. I screamed in pain, jerking the throbbing limb out from under his arm. The sirens flashed, making seeing difficult and my head pound.

"Over there!" Hilton shouted, hobbling over to a staircase that shot downwards into darkness.

"No you idiot! The exit is over there!" I shouted, knowing he wouldn't be able to understand me. Still, I twisted around, pointing towards the big door all the other escaping trainers tried to reach.

Hilton, eternally oblivious, jogged down the narrow staircase anyways. He let go of me with one hand, securing his grip on the rail and limped down the stairs. A stream of flames jetted past. It crashed into the wall, and boiling gases washed over us.

Hilton screamed, jumping back. He slammed into the wall, launching me into empty space.

My stomach leapt into my mouth, but before I could yell obscenities at Hilton, my head smashed into the lip of a concrete stair. Blue and white sparks filled my vision, and pain like I'd never felt before consumed my body like fire, eating away at my mind, and burning and biting its way down my spinal cord. I may have bounced my way down the rest of the stairs, but awareness of anything else besides anything but my own exploding head was beyond comprehension.

It felt like someone stabbed the back of my head with a hot knife and continually twisted the blade, tangling my brain into knots. Vaguely I registered that I'd finally landed on flat ground, but the agony was too great for me to care. I couldn't even tell if I was screaming or not. Burning sparks shot down my spine like lightning and reverberated around my skull, attacking the base of my eyes and sending me into convulsions.

A voice echoed in the distance, vainly trying to contact me. Tingling numbness spread across my body, blocking my sensation of touch like a fog. My vision flashed white consuming me, and my pain vanished. I blinked in surprise, but the whiteness faded to black. With a sharp inhale of breath, I realized this blackness was reality. I sent a hand back to feel the back of my green skull plate where the pain originated from. It couldn't feel anything; my head and fingers were too numb. My breath caught in my throat. Was I dying? Would the rescue team find my body months later in this dark hallway?

I looked back up the stairs. The battle still raged on; sirens filled the staircase with crimson every five seconds.

A hooded grunt stepped into the stairwell with a houndour following behind, fire trailing from her mouth and filling the staircase with ghastly vermillion light.

My eyes widened as my heart began to accelerate. I couldn't let them find me! I scrambled to my knees, arms almost collapsing under me. Stumbling to my feet, I staggered down the hallway as fast as I could manage with numbed limbs. I clung to the wall, hoping they would miss me as they passed.

The houndour jumped down from the last stair, letting out a growl that reverberated around the dark hallway. The light of her flames bathed me in red. She glanced back at her trainer. As soon as she looked forward, she'd spot me.

Barely keeping a scream from passing through my clenched lips, I stumbled forward, running a hand along the wall to support myself. The wall disappeared and I fell to the side, losing my balance. I tumbled inside of a dark room, and the door began to hiss shut behind me. Yelping, I jumped back as the door snapped closed. Loud shouting echoed from the hallway, and I heard something loud hit the door. I scrambled backwards, jumping to my feet and watching the door with wide eyes. A soft green light from behind me lit the room, giving me enough light to try to pry the door open by shoving my clumsy fingers in the crack. Why had the door closed on me? Was it automatic? Arceus I sure hoped not, or those grunts would be able to find me with ease. Quickly I realized my arm strength couldn't hope to move the metal door, so I redirected my attention to surveying the room.

A large tank stretched the entire length of the back wall, filled with glowing green gel. Hundreds of wires snaked inside of it, attached to a thin, pale body.

I gasped. It was a human child! He couldn't have been any older than twelve, but I'd always been so bad at judging the ages of humans. His hair hung around him, suspended in the goo. The green light bathed his narrow limbs, making him look more alien than human. They stripped him down to shorts, letting the ghoulish light catch in the hollows of his body. Wires fed down his throat and plunged into the veins of his arms. The gel immobilized him, but so did the metal chains shackling him to the ground. Just who was this kid that he required chains too?

He slowly opened his eyes, locking gazes with me. I screamed in surprise, jumping backwards. The muffled sounds of the battle above intensified, shaking the room as something else barreled into the door. All at once, the battle went silent. I froze, listening. Was it safe? Had the victor moved on?

I looked between the door and the human in the tank, hesitating. He watched me, unblinking, staring straight in to my soul. I froze in place, looking between him and the door. I didn't know how to free him and now could be my only chance to escape. Could I really just leave him for Reliance though?

Before I could decide the door slid open and two humans stumbled inside. I recognized the first as the grunt who'd freed me. The Reliance boy!

"Claire's ralts!" cried Hilton happily, rushing past the Reliance grunt and picked me off the floor, cradling me in his drenched arms. I snarled at him. Last time he held me, he dropped me down a flight of stairs! I squirmed out of his grip. Even the grunt was preferable to his clumsy hands.

"Arceus," the Reliance boy breathed, stepping up to the tank and placing his hand on the glass. "So this is what they were hiding…" he mumbled. "Alright, hang on kid!" he shouted, stepping back from the glass and looking around the room.

"What are you doing?" Hilton asked, stumbling forward, almost dropping me a second time.

"We've got to get him out," the Reliance grunt called, picking up a stool from the corner. The trapped boy watched him from behind the glass, following the grunt's movement with narrowed eyes.

Behind us trainers and pokémon rushed past the door, shouting above the sound of the sirens and their own pounding feet.

Without so much as even a glance backward, the grunt slammed the chair into the glass with all his might. Spider web cracks sliced across the glass, but it didn't give. He held the stool over his head, taking a deep breath in preparation for another strike.

Before the grunt could bring the stool down, the glass exploded, sending the three of us flying backwards. The shards of glass sped past my face, reflecting the green light as they spun before embedding themselves in the wall behind us. The gel flooded out of the tank, filling the room with a chemical smell so strong I felt the room spin beneath me. It clung to the inside of my mouth and throat, burning my nose and stinging my eyes. Hilton shifted under me, and I heard glass clatter to the floor. I rolled off his plush stomach and on the ground, trying to regain my sense of balance. The child stood in the ocean of knee-height gel, still chained to the floor. His eyes glowed blue, and the chains' metal links writhed, warping out of their original shape until they fell off, plunging into the goo.

Even though the pervasive numbness plaguing me put a damper on my psychic powers, I didn't need them to feel the cold fury radiated from his psyche, filling the room as completely and suffocatingly as the acrid smell. He yanked the cords out of his arms and off his back before clutching the bundle that snaked into his mouth.

I cringed, unable to look away as his tugged what seemed like yards of tubing out of his lithe body. The more cords he removed, the more his psychic power spiked. It filled the room with a hum, vibrating the horn on my head with its intensity. He was out for blood. Gallons of it.

What kind of monstrous human had we unleashed on the world‽

After clearing himself from the wires, he swept his gaze across on us, landing on the grunt. His upper lip curled into a snarl, eyes blazing. His form began to glow white, the brightness forcing me to avert my eyes. As the light faded and I looked back, to see not a human boy, but a pokémon floating in its place.

"Latios," the grunt breathed, awe and terror written on his face as stared at the legendary.

Latios shot forward, blurring. He rammed the teen into a wall and held him there with psychic energy.

I gasped, breath catching in my throat.

The boy writhed and squirmed, clawing at the invisible noose strangling him.

"Hey, what are you doing‽" Hilton shouted, but without even a glance in his direction, Latios sent Hilton flying to the other corner of the room, colliding with the wall.

I froze, scared motionless by the sight.

' _Tell me,'_ came an echoing, telepathic voice. The voice of a child. _'Why shouldn't I kill you?'_ he hissed, and Latios tightened his hold on the grunt. The boy's face went pale as he gasped for breath.

' _You're argument isn't very compelling,'_ Latios spat.

I wanted to speak up. I wanted to mention how he'd saved me, and stopped the man who tried to steal me, but the words hung in my burning throat, stopped by an invisible wall. My hand trembled violently, and my breathing came in shallow gasps.

"Fine, K-kill me," the grunt managed to wheeze "J-just help them escape," he finished, using his remaining energy to glance in Hilton's and my direction.

The latios paused, examining the Reliance boy with narrowed eyes.

"S-stop!" called Hilton, pushing himself up from across the room. "He's the one who freed everyone! He knows the way out!" Hilton shouted, stumbling over to us through the darkness. "He saved you too!" he added, panting as he reached us.

The grunt stopped squirming, and his body went limp.

Snarling, Latios withdrew, and the black-haired boy collapsed in a pale heap.

"Hey, did you kill him‽" Hilton shouted, pushing past Latios to sink to the grunt's side.

' _Mostly,'_ the Latios said, still glaring at Reliance boy. _'Do not make me regret not finishing the job,'_ he hissed.

The grunt broke into a coughing fit, and I sighed in relief. Thank Arceus our only ticket out of here hadn't been killed off by a homicidal legendary.

"We have to hurry," he managed through his coughs. "The grunts aren't going to be far behind. I had my yanma lead the others to the compound's back exit," he explained, slowly helping himself up. "It's less fortified than the main entrance," he finished, voice raw. He rubbed his throat, and I could already see purple bruises beginning to bloom across the pale skin.

' _If you mislead us, I will kill you without hesitation,'_ Latios said, eyes flint and words arctic. _'And if you don't mislead us, I still might kill you,'_ he added, and I could sense the terrifying truth in his words. The combination of his rage and the chemical smell began to make me feel woozy, and the dampening numbness on my brain refused to part.

The Reliance boy nodded grimly, massaging his throat one last time before moving towards the door. He stepped past me before pausing. With tender hands, he bent down and picked me up, holding me loosely in his arms.

"I'm sorry about before," he mumbled to me, obviously not expecting an answer, before turning back to Latios and Hilton.

"It's this way," he called, stepping out into the hallway.

The grunt jogged down the poorly lit corridor with ease that only comes from familiarity. It unnerved me. I almost forgot why Latios attacked him in the first place. That hoodie didn't look so orange in the dark.

I heard Hilton's heavy pants from behind, and Latios's loud stomping filled the hall. We passed through the empty hallway, muffled sirens wailing from the floor above. Only the stray emergency light lit our path and exposed the deep gouge marks and scorched walls, some still smoking. My stomach fluttered with uneasiness as our steps echoed through the silent hall. Where was everyone? Could he really be leading us into a trap?

The chemical stench still hung in my nose and twisted my stomach. I swallowed the need to vomit and breathed through my nose instead to clear the rancid odor.

We rounded a corner to an identical hallway.

' _How much farther?'_ Latios growled.

"Not long," the Reliance boy breathed, his voice hoarse. "We're almost th—"

Shouts broke out from behind us, and the walls shook.

The grunt cursed. "They unlocked the door. Run!" he shouted, barreling forward. In the distance I could see the faint outline of a door.

"Wait! I can't keep up!" Hilton shouted through labored breaths. The grunt skidded to a stop, twisting around while Latios zoomed past us. Hilton heaved, doubled over in the middle of the hallway, rolls of fat rippling with every inhale.

I wanted to tear his hair out. We were going to get recaptured because he was so out of shape! I wanted to scream at the Reliance boy. Tell him to leave Hilton behind and run for the door that'd been so close a moment ago. The grunt jumped to Hilton's side, shifting me to one arm like a human infant and dragging Hilton forward with his other.

The hallway flashed red as the hoard of shouting grunts rounded the corner, pokémon taking the lead and sprinting towards us with gaping jaws.

The Reliance boy shoved me into Hilton's arms and pushed him forward.

"Go!" he bellowed, reaching for his last poké ball. "I'll hold them off!" he said.

' _No,'_ growled a voice, and Latios flew back past us with a snarl. _'I will.'_

He situated himself between the black-haired boy and the oncoming trainers.

"But-!" the grunt began to protest.

' _Leave! I'll deal with you later,'_ Latios shouted. The psychic pressure in the air spiked as his opened his mouth, and a fuchsia ball began to form.

"Let's go!" shouted Reliance boy, coming up behind Hilton and me and yanking us out the open backdoor.

We burst into the evening air, and I inhaled deeply. Letting the rich smell of the forest invade my lungs and flush out the toxic chemicals. After Arceus-knows-how-long inside a poké ball, my internal body clock was thoroughly disoriented. Shades of light grey painted the sky, but all indications of the sun were absent, catching the world between night and day in a muddy twilight that still seemed beautiful to our tired eyes. A warm wind caressed my weary face.

"Keep going!" the grunt called, pointing to the path of crushed bushed and cracked branches. "Maybe we can meet up with the other trainers who escaped!" he said. After endless white hallways, the messy, unorganized beauty of nature nearly brought me to tears. We were free! I almost didn't care that Hilton's sweaty hands were about to drop me again.

Reliance boy jogged into the woods, following the path of destruction into the gloomy haze drifting above the ground. Hilton limped after him, struggling desperately to keep pace. I spared a glance back. Legendary though he may be, could Latios really hold back that many grunts? Hilton's only pokémon was absent, I couldn't hold my own in a fight, and the grunt appeared to only have one pokémon left. If the other Reliance grunts caught up to us we'd be destroyed.

The Reliance compound itself was tucked neatly away into a hill face, painted shades of brown and green to be invisible from the air. It looked so ordinary from the outside, but who knows how deeply those winding hallways descended into the earth.

A high-pitched whine sounded from the building, increasing in pitch.

"Take cover!" the Reliance boy shouted, diving behind a tree. Hilton dropped to the ground, squashing me between his sweaty body and the damp soil.

Amethyst light pierced every cranny of the forest, followed by an enormous, deafening blast. The shock wave followed, mowing through the trees, leaves flashing their silvers. It smashed into my chest and bounced around in my lungs, driving the air from them. I gasped, going limp. My eyes rolled up into my head, and blackness fell.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** I've been writing this story since I was in the womb, and I'm going to finish the thing if it kills me. And for the record, it's totally cool with me if you point out typos I may have missed—in fact, I'd prefer it so it doesn't break the immersion of future readers!

 **Fun Fact:** Word keeps trying to correct "Latios" to "Latinos."

Until next week, friends!


	2. Monsters in All Shapes

**Chapter 2: Monsters in All Shapes**

 **(***)**

Throbbing. Terrible terrible throbbing woke me. My heart beat in my head louder than my own thoughts, crushing any hope of movement. I cracked my eyes and jolted at the flickering orange light. Fire! The heat clawed at my skin! I tried to scuttle back, but the world started to spin, and I collapsed back down onto the…soft ground?

"Do not move," said a voice, causing the exact opposite effect. I jumped, almost falling out of said person's lap. He held me down, pressing my head in place. I stared up at his face, trying to put a name to it.

"L-Latios, you're human again," I muttered, but the pain from talking made me instantly regret it.

"How insightful," he commented dryly, rolling his eyes.

"I knew you were too good to be a human," I mumbled, smiling before the agony dug a knife into my head again. Stars danced at the corners of my vision; I groaned, twisting to clutch the back of my skull. I hugged myself tightly, gritting my teeth, but it only caused the throbbing to intensify. I suffered a lot during the escape, but the amount of pain I experienced now seemed disproportionate to those injuries. Urgh. But it was too hard to think about now. That awful numbness weighed down on my faculties like a wet blanket.

"I thought you healed me!" I accused through my groans.

"You were mistaken," he said, not even sparing me a glance this time.

"But at the base, my head stopped hurting!" I insisted.

Latios exhaled slowly, massaging the bridge of his nose before looking down at me. "I set up a mental barrier, blocking those pain signals because I needed you to free me," he said, speaking painfully slow as if talking to an infant.

"And you can't do that now?" I croaked through the pain.

"There were more pressing demands for my power," he said, looking away from me and into the fire.

His human face was young with a wiry–almost delicate-body to match. I guessed pre-teens, maybe younger. He was wearing a loose T-shirt now that slumped off his thin frame. Wires snaked beneath the fabric of the black, knee-length shorts we'd found him. Outside of the context of a secret lab, they could almost pass for yoga shorts. The glowing firelight played across his face, and I couldn't decipher if his eyes were red like his true form, or brown. His blue hair did however match the hue of his real body, of that I was sure. He had a straight nose. Angled. Aerodynamic. An open forehead made way for contemplative eyes rimmed with heavy lashes. Full cheeks framed a cherubic mouth pressed into a slight frown that rested above a round chin.

I stared past Latios's face up into the sky. Dark tree branches partially illuminated by the campfire's glow framed my view of the starry night sky. A sliver of moon cut the sky, and nonthreatening clouds drifted in the night on a slow summer breeze from the peaks of Mt. Coronet. Embers from the fire drifted up, carried by smoke, into the night sky light like an offering to the gods. Was Arceus watching us from some far off place? Did he even know we existed?

"You're green-haired companion has set up his sleeping equipment to your right. He seemed quite concerned when you fell unconscious," Latios commented dryly.

I frowned. No. I did not want to sleep or ever be anywhere near him. Not after all he'd done. I could forgive him dropping me down the stairs. It'd take me about ten years to do it, but I could. What I couldn't forgive was years of tormenting Claire…

Claire!

"Latios, Latios!" I managed, wincing at the pain but pushing through, "Have you seen a human girl with short brown hair and brown eyes?" I asked, struggling to push myself up. Vertigo and nausea hit me like a train, causing me to collapse back in Latios's lap.

"I have seen millions of humans fitting that description," he said, kicking a rock into the fire and causing a cascade of sparks. "The green-haired one talks of her endlessly. Something about a fiancée," he said, narrowing his eyes and glaring at the fire.

"They're not engaged!" I shouted, and black spots filled my vision for it. I shut my eyes, and prayed for it to stop.

Latios watched me writhe in silence before continuing. "It matters not to me. He and the Reliance scum have gone to survey the ruins of the compound and gather supplies."

"They what?" I asked, voice hoarse. I searched my memory. "The last thing I remember was the base exploding."

Latios smiled a wicked grin, revealing his rather pointed canines. The fire glinted off his blood-red eyes. "They will no longer bother us."

I swallowed hard, wishing I wasn't on his lap and at his mercy. Sure, I hated Reliance as much as I hated Hilton, but maybe Latios was locked up for a reason. And we were the ones who freed him… What kind of monster had we released?

Cracking sticks and crunching leaves startled me out of my thoughts, and Latios's head snapped sideways, watching the source with narrowed eyes.

"Wha? Who is it?" I slurred, not even bothering to try and push myself up again. Soon two figures walked into my field of vision, lit by the crimson firelight.

The Reliance Boy carried two large, singed backpacks slung over each shoulder another in his arms. Soot stained the bottom half of his grey cargo pants—completely obscuring his Reliance-issue combat boots-and his hair stuck out in every direction. The flickering firelight only enhanced the dark circles beneath his tired eyes. Bright red bruises were already beginning to form around his neck where Latios strangled him earlier. Still, he kept his head high, and dropped the bags near us.

Hilton trailed behind the older human, panting painfully loud and stumbling forward. He carried half the load that the ex-grunt did, but looked four times as strained. Sweat poured down his temples, causing his sickly green hair to cling to his fac—!

I started, nearly falling off of Latios's legs and onto the grass.

"Arceus!" I hissed, rubbing at my eyes, praying for the cruel apparition to be replaced with reality. It must've been the firelight playing tricks as it danced across his face. I blinked as the boy neared. As he twisted his face, it became clear this was no trick of the light.

"H-he's a monster," I whispered, staring wide-eyed at the ghoul that used to be Hilton. For sure, he'd never been attractive before, but now…he looked like he'd been run over by a semi-truck twice then sprayed with acid.

One half of his face looked "normal"—for him at least—except for bottled cap-sized navy blue splotches dying his face like ink stains. Inside of the splotches…What was…? Scales? Little shiny flecks reflected the firelight, flaking and peeling in a simply nauseating way. Oh, and that was the _good_ half of his face. The left-side of his face was the kind of horrifying deformity chasing you in night terrors, screaming unintelligible words carried by a howling wind.

The navy splotches on the right side of his face were simply a precursor to the full invasion on the left side. It fought a battle down the center of his face for dominance with the right half. Invading in his forehead, but beaten back near his eyes only to push forward against by his nose. On his left, his lips contorted in freakish ways, first curving up towards his nose like a snarl, than dipping down to his chin in a final grimace, garishly exaggerated almost to the point of being comical. Small scales flecked the distorted portion of his lips, right at home next to the pealing dry skin and deep red festering rivets where his lips cracked. Drool dribbled in a line out from the corner of his mouth, occasionally launching a droplet from the bottom of his chin onto his dirty hoodie. The new shape of his lips was imperfect and unable to close fully.

While the right half of his face was full and rounded–some might say a little _too_ full—the left side contrasted starkly in its staggering gauntness, as if someone stuck a vacuum inside his mouth and tried to suck his cheek in. The bridge of his nose sank in at the left side, flattening his face like a snake. His left nostril turned upwards obscenely and migrated closer to his left eye. The mutations nearly obliterated his thick eyebrow, leaving only a few ragged hairs poking out here or there to even suggest it ever existed. The skin above his left brow sunk low, pressing down on the top of his eye. His pupil stretched into a lopsided slit, and his irises dyed crimson. Severe hemorrhaging leaked in from the corners, polluting his dun sclera with blood.

Hilton, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to his deformity. Did he not know‽ He must! There was no way Reliance could do that to his face without him knowing.

I shut my eyes, trying to banish the haunting vision. How had I not noticed before what now seemed so impossible to un-see? I tried to remember the Reliance base, recalling my memories of Hilton. I never had time to take a good look at his face. When I had to walk, looking at a human's face meant looking straight up, so I knew most people by their calves. All the other times the lighting was too dim, we were moving too fast, or I simply caught sight of the back of his head.

Reliance Boy opened his mouth to say something comforting, but couldn't .What could you say to someone like that without having experienced yourself? It's not _that_ bad? I'm sure it'll get better? We'll fix it for sure? What guarantee would we have of any of those promises? In all likeliness, there wouldn't be a way to reverse it. He'd be stuck like that.

The ex-grunt finally forced words, but I couldn't drag my attention off Hilton. Only when I felt Latios tense beneath me could I finally tear myself from Hilton's ghoulish visage.

"Is that sympathy I detect?" Latios hissed, beginning to rise. I cried out, but he let me roll off his lap onto the dirt. White sparks flashed in front of my eyes, and I gasped, unable to even cry for help. The world spun out of focus for several agonizing minutes before it began to slow. With tears brimming in the corner of my eyes, I tried to regain my sense of balance.

Latios faced the ex-grunt now, jabbing an accusatory finger at the center of his chest. Because Latios's human form resembled a child, there was a foot and a half worth of height difference between them. It might've have been funny if my head wasn't trying to murder itself.

"So tell me, _trash_ ," Latios hissed, lip curling. "Why shouldn't I kill you where you stand?" he said, repeating his statement from back in the compound.

"Come on, Latios!" Hilton whined, taking a step towards the duo. "He was the one who saved everyone from Reliance! We wouldn't be here without him," Hilton insisted, words coming out slurred and with a lisp from his newly deformed mouth.

"Without people like him, we wouldn't be here at all." Latios spat, never once taking his eyes off the Reliance Boy. "We'd all be back home, and you wouldn't be an abomination!"

The ex-grunt winced at Latios's accusations, but didn't defend himself.

"And then you go and continue to sympathize with those _monsters_ after I spare your life," Latios continued, voice low. He took a step towards the black-haired boy.

I swallowed hard. If someone didn't intervene, this could get bad fast. My stomach clenched in knots, and my limbs refused to move.

"You can't kill me. Not yet, at least," the teen said, voice rough and uneven. This caused Latios to pause, eyeing him with suspicion.

"I-I know I made a mistake joining Reliance," he went on. Latios growled at the mere mention of the organization's name. "I know that, and that's why I've got to make up for it, okay?" he said.

Latios frowned, but let him continue.

"After I undo everything Reliance has done, then you can kill me, alright?" he said, sounding tired. His entire posture deflated. His head dropped and his shoulders sunk.

"You think you can undo what Reliance has done?" Latios said with a short, cruel laugh. He took a step backwards, gesturing to Hilton and I. "You think something like this can just be undone? You think you can just _work hard_ and all of this will just vanish‽" he shouted, voice crescendoing and face growing red.

"I know I can't!" the Reliance Boy shouted back before rubbing his face and sinking down onto the log by the fire. "I know I can't," he repeated in a whisper before clenching his fist and looking up at Latios. "But I have to try. I have to," he said desperately.

Latios narrowed his eyes again, regarding the human. "You're a fool," he finally said.

"I know," he mumbled, and silence fell as the tension diffused. The fire's crackling the only sound between the four of us.

"Soooo, when's dinner?" Hilton suggested with a lopsided grin.

Hilton and the ex-grunt began unpacking their backpacks, sorting the treasures they'd salvaged from the compound while Latios watched wordlessly. I finally found the strength inside me to push myself up and crawl back onto the log, watching them proceed. From the packs soon came a bundle of food, basic travelling supplies, and three poké balls set off to the side.

"Everything was pretty sparse," the ex-grunt explained, "I think either any remaining Reliance grunts or maybe the other trainers must've picked through it first. I didn't see anyone there though," he mumbled, going over his inventory for the fourth time.

"What do we lack?" Latios asked, voice still hard and he refused to look directly at Reliance Boy.

"Well, with all four of us this food is probably only going to last two days. I couldn't find a spare C-Gear or Holo Caster to call for help. When we-I mean the Reliance grunts used to take them from trainers, they'd put them in this big room, but it caved in the explosion," he explained, dark brow furrowed.

"That's okay, Latios can just fly us out of here," Hilton hummed happily, not-so-stealthily smuggling several granola bars into his hoodie pocket.

Arceus, I couldn't even bare to look at him. He made me nauseous. I knew I should feel bad for him. Reliance experimented on him. Who knows what he went through, but all the same…this had to be some sort of divine justice, right? For all the grief he caused me and my trainer. Bad things happen to bad people, right?

"You think I stay in this form by choice?" Latios scoffed. "My remaining power isn't even enough for me to revert back to my true form. You seriously believe I have the energy for the multiple trips ferrying all of you would require? Not that I _would_ even if I had the energy," he added with a sneer. "Besides," he continued before Hilton could get a word in edge-wise. "We could be days away from civilization," he said, crossing his arms. "And there's a storm brewing," he mumbled.

"What? You said a storm?" Reliance Boy asked, looking up at that.

"How do you know?" Hilton added, obviously not put off by Latios's previous jabs at his intelligence.

Latios hissed impatiently, rubbing his temples. "For Arceus's sake, even you humans should be able to feel it in the air," he said.

The three of us went still, trying to feel what Latios was referring to. I looked up at the near-cloudless sky.

The ex-grunt sighed, running a hand through his dirty hair. "How long do we have?"

Latios stared at Reliance Boy, and for a moment I was sure he'd refuse to answer, but he opened his mouth and said, "Perhaps two hours, maybe more if fortune is on our side. Less if it is not."

Reliance Boy groaned, ripping grass out of the ground and tossing it into the air to watch it float back down. "Veilstone is only about four hours away on foot," he admitted.

"Sinnoh," Latios mumbled to himself, and only I caught the whispered syllables above the crackling fire.

"So what do we do? Wait out the storm?" Hilton asked, cocking his head and scratching the mutated side of his face. Dried scales flecked off, landing on his hoodie. I gagged.

The ex-grunt pressed his fingertips together, staring into the fire. After a moment he turned to Latios. "Do you think it's something we could wait out?"

Latios snorted, rolling his eyes. "Best case scenario, three days."

Reliance Boy sputtered at that. "You're joking!" he said, running his hands through his hair more quickly now.

Latios growled. "You doubt me, trash?"

The ex-grunt quickly threw his hands up in surrender. "No no no! I just—that big of a storm is pretty unusual for Sinnoh this time of year. That's all," he said.

"Perhaps that's because it's a tropical storm," Latios spat. Both humans gaped, but before they control their slack jaws and form words, I beat them to it.

"We don't get tropical storms in Sinnoh," I stated dumbly.

"I'm aware," Latios gritted. "Now, if you're done blabbering, I think I'll take my leave," he said, pushing himself up.

"Where are you going?" Hilton asked in confusion.

Latios ignored him, instead stepping for the dark woods, mumbling something about Lugia under his breath.

"Latios, wait!" Reliance Boy called. The faux human didn't even glance backwards. The ex-grunt jumped to his feet, easily outpacing Latios and throwing himself in front of him. "You can't go off on your own! We have to work together!" he pleaded.

"Haven't you had enough for one day, imbecile?" Latios snarled.

He winced at Latios's ferocity, but stood his ground. Hilton and I watched on with interest.

"Please, Latios," the ex-grunt murmured. "We need each other's help."

"You dare-!" but before Latios could continue his outburst, Reliance Boy went on.

"I know the way to Veilstone, and you have the knowledge to guide us through the storm. Once we get there, you can heal and go wherever you want, but first we have to make it there! What if Reliance grunts find us? Arceus, I bet they want me as badly as they want you now," he moaned, pinching the bridge of his nose before looking up. "But that's why we have to help each other."

Latios paused, chewing on the boy's words like sour candy. "Let me make this very clear," he said in a low voice, barely audible. "The moment we set foot in Veilstone, I'm gone."

Reliance Boy visibly relaxed. "That's all I ask."

Scowling, Latios stalked away from the ex-grunt, sitting himself down across the fire. Reliance Boy went back to surveying the pile of loot, picking several berries from among the items and distributing them around the circle. He handed me two, making pointed looks in Latios's direction.

I swallowed hard, trying to give the second berry back, but the ex-grunt wouldn't take it. Shuddering, I pushed myself up, hobbling over to Latios. Wordlessly, I offered him the berry.

After a pretentious eye roll, he snatched it from my hand, tearing into it with his inhumanly white teeth.

I quickly skirted back to the others, sitting myself close to the black-haired teen. Sure he was ex-Reliance, but that was still better than a vengeful legendary or _Hilton._ Against my better judgment, I cast my glance towards the large boy. With a ravenous look in his eyes, he brought his berry to his mouth, opening wide. I gasped again. Crooked teeth sat mushed together in blackened gums. The bones varied from natural white, to raw hues of pink, down to a deep maroon matching his bloody eye. His left canine was the deepest red of them all, and extended into a long point. I could see where his new fang was rubbing his lower gums raw already. He sank his teeth into the berry, and there was something inexplicably horrifying about it. The deformity shouldn't exist in the world. Ugly as sin, and as innately wrong.

My small stomach growled greedily, recognizing the smell of the berry. I bit into the oran berry; its thin skin parted easily under my teeth, allowing me access to the sweet flesh underneath. The array of flavors spread through my mouth. First sweet, than sour, than spicy, and even more flavors I didn't have a name for. I couldn't help the juices that dribbled down my chin, dripping onto the rest of my body. I groaned at the mess, shoving the rest of the oran berry into my mouth.

"Oh, here!" Reliance Boy said, offering me a water bottle. "You should wash it off or it'll get sticky," he explained.

I tried reach out telepathically to thank him, but my powers snapped back like a rubber band, sending me reeling. The ex-grunt's eyes widened in concern, reaching out a calloused hand to steady me.

"Whass wrong Claire's rahlts?" Hilton asked around a mouthful of food, chunks spilling out onto his lap.

' _My name is Noël,'_ I snapped telepathically, trying to wrestle my psychic powers into submission.

"You can talk, Claire's Ralts‽" Hilton asked excitedly, discarding my last sentence.

I growled, looking anywhere but Hilton's face. My headache returned with a vengeance. Even if I wanted to respond, I doubted I possessed the capabilities. Latios could understand me both verbally and telepathically, having the body of a human but the brain of a pokémon, but I doubted he'd agree to act as translator.

Reliance Boy chuckled softly. "I guess we haven't had formal introductions, have we? Well, my name's Cenric," he said, absently rubbing the bruises encircling his neck. I regarded him for a moment in the firelight, taking a good look at him for the first time. Upon further examination, I realized he was older than his dark doe eyes led me to believe. He had to at least be an older teen, if not a young adult. His tanned complexion did little to hide the violet circles hanging beneath his eyes. A thin, straight nose struck out from under his dark, heavy brows. Black hair framed an open face, styled into two small wings near his temples. That was unusual, but I'd definitely seen humans with weirder hair styles. Lean, athletic limbs hid beneath the folds of his neon orange hoodie with the black Reliance emblem blazoned on the chest and back.

Cenric, oblivious to my scrutiny, turned to me, "And you said your name was Noël?" he asked, gesturing to me and mercifully sparing the pain of having to respond telepathically. I just nodded my head.

"He's Claire's ralts, and I'm Hilton!" the other boy slurred over another mouthful of food. Cenric and I glanced in Latios's direction. He stared intently into the fire, ignoring us.

Finishing the rest of his dinner, Cenric returned to the ground, repacking all his items into the backpacks.

"I figure we should head out now and cover as much ground as we can before the rain starts," he said, zipping the last backpack closed.

The thought of having to travel almost floored me. My head throbbed, all my muscles hurt, I could barely walk straight, and he wanted me to walk for four hours on foot with Latios and _Hilton_? I wretched at the thought, but the action made my head spin.

Cenric handed Hilton one of the three poké balls, pocketing the remaining two.

' _You didn't happen to find my poké ball, did you?'_ I asked through gritted teeth from the pain telepathy caused me. Arceus, even something as simple as telepathy felt like swimming through molasses now. Hopefully in a few hours the numbness would fade, and I would regain the full extent of my psychic powers, limited though they were.

Cenric shook his head, frowning. "I'm sorry, Noël. We looked," he said. He stepped over to the fire, dumping a bottle of water onto the flames. It exploded in a violent hiss of steam. Unperturbed, Cenric continued to kick dirt onto the dying embers.

Latios rose from his seat, cracking his neck in a single terse movement. "The sooner we reach Veilstone, the sooner I can be rid of you," he said to Cenric, scowling at the teen.

Cenric didn't respond, instead slinging the two backpacks on his back, and offering the other to Hilton, who took it after a groan.

"Alright, let's get going," he said, rolling his shoulders before proceeding towards the tree line. Hilton situated the pack on his back before his beady eyes fell on me. With an idiotic smile, he took a step towards me.

The world flashed blue than red than black as I stood up. My balance started to go, and I stumbled backwards. Thankfully the log was there for me to steady myself on, so with a deep breath, I took off towards Cenric.

Grass crunched under my feet as I chased Cenric, and warm night air filled my lungs, helping clear my head a little. My heart still throbbed in my skull, and the sound of my breathing was magnified, but it was all worth it to escape Hilton.

We vanished into the dark foliage, and I spent most of my brain power making sure I didn't trip over a root in the darkness. Dodging the brush and exposed roots became a rhythm as I followed Cenric's legs, leaves crackling beneath us. I missed this mindless following; it was almost like being back with Claire again. I sniffled as the reality of her disappearance hit me. Maybe I'd never get her back. Maybe—

I looked up, trying to decide my next step, but Cenric was gone. I spun around, searching the trees for any sign of him or anyone. The leaves rustled in the night, giving the illusion of life where only shadows hid. The forest was empty, and I was alone. Arceus, how had I gotten lost already‽

A heavy weight filled my chest and breathing became difficult as reality hit me like a bucket of cold water. I was lost in the woods without the ability to defend myself if some wild pokémon decide I look rather tasty. However it wasn't fear that engulfed me, it was a profound sense of loneliness. I felt a thousand pounds heavier and even the slightest movement became a challenge. I had iron fingers and a lead stomach. As I reflected, I realized that this was the first time in my life I'd been completely alone. No Claire close by, no Latios, and not even Hilton.

I sniffled. The humidity was starting to make my sinuses run, or at least that's what I told myself. A sharp pang ran up my nose, and my throat choked up. Why me! Why not someone stronger who could defend themselves‽ It wasn't fair! And now I was lost and alone and I didn't know what to do! I sank down and curled into a ball, not caring about the lurking beasts. It was all too much.

"Noël?" came a faint voice; I barely heard it. "Come here," the voice said gently, scooping me off of the ground. I looked up and saw Cenric.

"How'd we lose you already?" he asked, with a faint smile.

"Good question," Latios commented dryly from the shadows beyond.

"It doesn't matter. It was my fault anyways, I probably should've turned on the flashlight before we started," Cenric said consolingly while shifting me into just one arm. He reached back into his pack, pulling out a flashlight and clicking it on. The light shot through my eyes straight through to my skull, making the throbbing flare up yet again. I winced at the light and Cenric quickly dropped the beam to the forest floor.

Cenric started forwards, keeping me in his arms. I breathed an internal sigh of relief. I didn't know of my mind, broken and on edge as it was, could handle being lost a second time.

Silence fell, and the dark trees pushed in on us as Cenric's flashlight cast eerie moving shadows that tricked me into believing we were being ambushed more than once. Behind us I could hear Hilton's heavy, uneven gate stomping along, probably alerting every Reliance grunt in a sixty mile radius. Latios's footstep's sounded fainter, and I twisted back several times just to make sure he still followed us. There wasn't any talking except for an occasional quiet "watch out for the root" or "there's a pit there". After half an hour we came across an unkempt dirt path with an impenetrable ceiling of branches hanging above. There was discussion on whether it was safe or not, but Cenric rose the point that if Reliance were to ambush us, we'd stand a better chance where we could fight best. Not having to weave through trees and get tripped by vines was nice too.

As the storm came in, the air grew denser and more humid. The smell of rain mixed with the usual forest musk. It was difficult to see the sky through the thick leaves above us. I didn't know the storm arrived until I heard the patter of raindrops on leaves in the dark.

What started as several drops turned into sheets of rain as thick as fog in mere seconds, soaking through clothes and fur alike until we all weighed twenty more pounds. Minutes of walking turned into hours. Even the chilling rain couldn't revitalize my exhausted body. My eyes slid closed, lulled by the sound of the rain and steady jostling of Cenric's arms, and disturbing dreams started intermixing with reality. I wished this was the dream, and falling asleep would cause me to wake back up in the Sunyshore Pokémon Center.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** There's a spider trying and failing to crawl up my wall, and I have really dramatic music playing, and it's just kinda the best. Oh shoot! He's headed for my drink! Wait, nvm he veered off. Good bye little spider. Alright, so thoughts on the characters so far? Favorite? Least favorite? Should they leave Hilton behind to fend for himself? Probably! Should Lawrence be featured in a Pantene commercial? Also probably!

Oh, and as a quick note: Cenric = Senric; Cyan = Sigh-anne;

 **Fun Fact** : You're actually reading version eight of this story.

Until next week, friends!


	3. Trouble Brewing

**A/N:** I hope I have time to play Dragon Age over the break between editing this, work, cosplay, and art trades…

 **Chapter 3: Trouble Brewing**

 **(***)**

I woke to the mumbles of conversation.

"So you said your girlfriend was supposed to be at the compound with you?" Cenric asked. Even through his soaked hoodie I could feel his chest vibrate with the words.

Wait? Girlfriend? Who?

"Yup," Hilton said gravely. He walked next to us now that the path had widened.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. Only in his sick, perverted dreams would Claire stoop to date likes of him.

"That's funny. You said 'ivory' skin and 'long golden hair', right? I don't remember seeing anyone like that when I was unlocking the cells," Cenric said, heavy brows pressed together in concern.

I choked. _'Well, that's because Claire is a tan brunette,'_ I said, almost laughing but my head hurt too much. Arceus, how could Hilton even be real?

"No, I'm pretty sure she's blonde," Hilton said, nodding his head sagely.

' _She's brunette. He's delusional,'_ I said, closing off the telepathic channel so only Cenric could hear. I didn't feel like arguing with Hilton and his fantasies at present.

Cenric eye brows shot up at that. "Hey, I might know who you're talking about. What kind of pokémon did she have with her besides Noël?"

Hilton's face scrunched, warping the already deformed curved even further into a ghoulish mask that I could scarcely recognize as human. "Ummm. Oh yeah! She has a mantine, a roserade, a luxray, a staraptor, and a ralts–this little guy right here—" Hilton said, gesturing to me.

I heard Latios scoff from behind us like some sort of sarcastic shadow. "Of course you remember the people you kidnap," he mumbled.

' _Well, actually it was some pale lady who kidnapped Claire, Hilton, and I,'_ I said after rolling my eyes at his vitriol. Cenric stopped dead, and Latios ran into us from behind, sending the three of us tumbling forward. Cenric barely managed to right himself before Latios was in front of us.

"What‽" hissed Latios, grabbing me out of Cenric's arms with wide eyes, pupils contracted to pinpricks. "What did you say?" he whispered, going pale. His hands grew cold and trembled, but he retained at same crazed look in his eyes.

"This woman, did she have white-blonde hair?" Latios hissed.

"Yup," Hilton said, pulling a granola bar out of his dripping hoodie and taking a bite out of it, ignoring the drizzling rain.

' _You can't eat at a time like this,'_ I snapped at Hilton. Latios's arms went slack, and he would've dropped me if Cenric hadn't pried me out of his arms.

"That's why she came," Cenric breathed.

Latios tensed, carmine eyes darting up to Cenric's face. In a second his thin hands wrapped around Cenric's throat, pushing him back into a tree and pinning him there. Cenric gagged, arms going lose. Yelping, I jumped down onto the muddy ground. The impact sent sparks shooting through my body.

I rolled to the side to see Latios pressing him thumbs into Cenric's neck. "You know that _scourge_?" he hissed, barely audible over the rain.

Cenric writhed, dropping the flashlight and sending the beam flashing over the trees before illuminating their feet. In the dim light, I struggled to make out their figures.

"Latios! C'mon!" Hilton complained. "He can't explain when you're choking him!"

Snarling, Latios released Cenric, taking a step backwards.

Cenric collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.

"You've got to stop doing that," he managed, voice ragged.

"I'd kill you where you kneel if you didn't have pertinent information," Latios growled.

"Arceus, you're insane," Cenric gasped, trying to steady himself.

"Do not use his name in vain!" Latios roared, taking a step towards Cenric.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Cenric wheezed, putting his hands up in surrender. "All I know is that she's someone important. I swear," he said, pulling himself up just to lean back against the tree, working to refill his lungs.

"You're Reliance trash; your word is mud," Latios spat.

"You've got to believe me!" he pleaded. "I didn't even know _you_ were down there! I only joined Reliance a few weeks ago! Honest to God! They don't tell us newbies anything important! I knew there was something up with that one girl, Claire," he said, looking over to Hilton and I. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal. "I don't think I ever saw her except on the security cams once. There was a big fuss about something or other, then that woman left with Claire," he said, voice raw.

Hilton sputtered and coughed, sending a wad of mucus to drip down my spine. I jerked in surprise. Blech. I forgot about him. He wiped a wade of phlegm off his face with his sleeve. I shuddered.

"Why would they do this?" Hilton sniffled, breathing through his mouth.

"Ask this waste of oxygen," Latios growled, pointing at Cenric before throwing his hands into the air and storming around in angry circles. A thunderclap boomed, shaking the night.

"I don't know why they do what they do! Reliance's whole goal is to make sure pokemon are bound to humans, but nothing we— _they_ did fits in with that…" Cenric said, running his hand through his drenched hair.

Latios laughed, cruel and hard. He whipped around, pointing to Hilton. "Bound! Ha! Well, they've accomplished that haven't they? Just a little bit of mad science required," he sneered, dragging his eyes of Hilton. "Before I was captured, I just thought they were more human supremacist, but they're colors run much blacker than that," he said with a grin the conveyed no joy.

"I know! I know!" Cenric moaned. "As soon as I found out they were kidnapping trainers and pokémon to experiment on, I tried to get out! But you can't just say 'I quit' and walk out the front door. Reliance doesn't work like that. I spent weeks thinking about this escape," he said.

"And the plan you came up with was 'let everyone loose, pull the fire alarm, and run?'" Latios asked with a mocking laugh.

Cenric scowled. "If I hadn't cut communications all of us would've been recaptured hours ago. This whole place would be swarming with reinforcements. You really think Reliance would let go of a legendary so easily?" he asked, pushing himself off the tree. "Now are we going to keep arguing in the rain, or can we keep moving to Veilstone? The police and the League need to know about this as soon as possible, and we're just wasting time," he said, shifting his pack and stepping forward.

Hilton materialized behind me, scooping me up in his soaking, flabby arms. I struggled violently in his grip. I was still bitter about him dropping me down the stairs, and didn't particularly want him carrying me. Or walking near me. Or on the same continent as me.

"You guys ready to go?" asked Cenric from ahead. I gave up. I most certainly didn't want Hilton touching me, but I also knew I didn't have the strength to make the journey on foot. Maybe I could get Cenric to carry me later. Hilton limped forward to catch up with Cenric, and after a slight delay, I heard Latios storming after us.

"You said that woman took Claire away?" Hilton asked quietly.

Cenric nodded gravely. "She might still be in the area, you know?" he said, trying to fake a smile and failing.

"I can tell," Hilton said solemnly. "We have a spiritual connection," he explained, one-hundred-percent serious. "I'll be her knight-in-shinning-armor, and we'll ride off into the sunset happily ever after," he said.

I heard Latios gag from behind us, and for once, our sentiments were aligned. Arceus, if Latios didn't kill Cenric before we got to Veilstone, I just might end Hilton. Either way this ended in homicide.

"Why is that Reliance woman so important to you anyway?" Cenric asked Latios, but not turning to face him.

"If you want to live to see the sunrise, you'll stop asking questions," Latios growled icily.

Silence fell in the form of pattering rain. Occasionally Cenric and Hilton exchanged scattered sentences, mostly about human matters I didn't care much for. Rain beat against the leaves, making them flutter. The constant noise made conversation difficult. Hours passed in a black haze. The forest all looked the same to me, so it felt like we were marching in place.

I thought back to dinner, and my stomach grumbled jealously. Over the past, what, two days? How long had I been unconscious again at the base? I'd only eaten an oran berry since we escaped. No wonder my stomach was eating itself.

The ground didn't look too muddy here, and I'd seen some berry bushes along our way. Maybe I could snag one…

' _Hilton, could you put me down? I need to…stretch.'_ No need to tell him the truth. He might just eat whatever I found.

"Oh? What?" asked Hilton blinking. I'd shocked him out of another Claire-filled fantasy.

I grumbled, bitter about having to repeat myself. Finally he got the message and set me down. I didn't enjoy physical activity, but it was nice to stretch my legs. Maybe it hadn't been a _complete_ lie.

Cenric started a conversation about the upcoming Poké Festival, but I tuned it out, watching the passing shrubbery intently for my meal. There! Three berries the color of the night sky with little white spots to match. I ran over to my prize, mouth salivating and stomach churning eagerly.

I jerked my snack off its branch, and lifted it to my mouth, ready to sink my teeth into assured deliciousness. Something smacked it out of my hand. I whipped around angrily. If it was Hilton I'd-!

Cenric watched me with wide-eyes, sweating nervously.

"Noël! Did you eat any of that?" he asked grabbing my shoulders roughly. I frowned, he hadn't shown this kind of force before.

' _No? Why? I had a small dinner so—'_

He sighed in relief, his entire body relaxing. He rubbed his hands on his face and ran them through his hair.

' _What?'_ I asked; his behavior worried me.

"Those berries are poisonous. _Especially_ for someone as small as you are," he said. I huffed and crossed my arms. Not everyone could be human-sized giants.

"Not that there's anything wrong with being your size," he amended, "but the dosage would've affected you much quicker. "I've never seen a pokémon so…out of place in nature. Most of them take to the woods pretty easily," Cenric admitted.

In answer to his statement, I said, _'I was born in a daycare center and grew up with humans.'_ Admitting it made me feel hollow.

"Hey, me too," Cenric said.

' _You were born in a daycare center_ _‽_ ' I asked incredulously.

"Yeah," he said with a little chuckle, "I'll have you tell you that story some time."

I sighed, feeling my annoyance slip away.

"Can we take a break?" Hilton asked with a yawn before dissolving into violent shivering. "It's freezing out here."

Cenric looked up and around at us. Even Latios didn't object to the suggestion. His mess of blue hair hung around his face, and the rain soaked his blue shirt through, exposing the boney frame of a human child beneath. He hunched over, hands tucked beneath his armpits as he tried to fight his overt shivering. His gaze drifted over to me, and upon seeing my expression, he immediately straightened, tilting his chin up. I just shrugged before turning to Cenric in question.

"Alright, let's rest for five minutes," he said with a sigh, looking around for a place. Lightning struck, illuminating the world in white for a brief moment. I jumped as the thunder crackled above our heads.

"Over there! I saw a rocky overhang! It might be dry!" Cenric called, stepping off the path and venturing into the woods. Hilton grabbed me off the ground, much to my dismay, before dogging after Cenric. We trailed him through the woods for just a moment before we found the rocky structure, and Arceus-bless, there was a small section by the base shielded from the rain.

With an exhausted sigh, Cenric collapsed onto the dry ground, and Hilton and Latios followed suite. I shoved myself out of Hilton's lap –a difficult feat considering he had the approximate consistency of a marshmallow- and landed on my knees, crawling to a spot beside Cenric.

"What time is it?" Latios mumbled.

Cenric shrugged, slipping off his sopping Reliance hoodie to reveal a plain black turtleneck beneath. He began to wring the water out of it before looking up at Latios. "Well, I timed our escape when the guards change shift around 8:30'ish, but then we had to fight our way out, and we've been walking for a couple hours, so sometime after midnight, maybe?" he offered.

Latios grunted, before staring out into the rain in silence. This was only broken by the loud growl of his stomach.

"I don't think anyone will object if we break into the food again, right?" Cenric asked with a grin fueled by exhaustion and stress. He leaned over to grab Hilton's pack, pulling it onto his lap and unzipping the main pouch. His violet eyes widened, eyebrows raising in stunned shock. He glanced over to Hilton, mouth agape.

"D-Did we leave all our food by the fire?" Cenric asked, blinking.

"Oh wait, that was for everyone?" Hilton asked, eyes bulging. "Oops! Sorry guys," he said with a light laugh, scratching his head.

"You ate…all of that?" Cenric asked slowly, trying to process this.

Latios growled, throwing himself back to lay on the dried pine straw. "I haven't eaten anything in months. Just that oran berry," he groaned to himself, clutching his stomach.

"How are you still alive?" Hilton asked, face scrunching in confusion. Arceus, I wanted to slap him. All curled up, Latios looked especially frail. I wondered idly if this was just more of his posturing.

My own apathy for his plight surprised me. My telempathy—the ability my species possessed to feel the emotions of others—still wasn't functioning. I couldn't feel anything through that neural haze. Normally, when my telempathy was working, I'd be able to feel his pain and empathize with him, but without it... Was this how the rest of the world lived? Callously making judgments without trying to understand? Wearing away at each other like sandpaper? I shivered despite the hot night air; the idea scared me. Hopefully I'd regain my full abilities soon. Without it, I felt blind.

In response to Hilton's earlier question, Cenric leaned over to the green-haired boy. "They hooked him up to feeding tubes, Hilton," he said quietly.

"Oh! Oh…" Hilton said, face twisting into a frown. He pushed himself up, swaying unsteadily. "It's okay, guys! I'm the food-finding master! Just leave it to me!" he said, before tottering out into the rain.

"Hilton, wait!" Cenric called.

"Let him go. He won't be gone long, and I doubt Reliance could find him in this storm anyways," Latios said.

Cenric frowned, but didn't pursue the matter. He looked over to me, mouth open about to say something, but the words died on his lips.

"Noël…" Cenric said slowly, and his tone scared me.

' _Y-yeah?'_ I asked, looking around to see if any joltics were crawling up my leg.

"Did you," he continued carefully, "always have that crack on your head?"

Slowly, I raised a hand to the back of my skull plate, running my fingers along the boney surface until…

"Arceus," I whispered. This couldn't be real. Part of my skull cracked inward, spider web fissures emanating from the epicenter at the base. I applied a slight amount of pressure to the wound, and white fire sparked down my spine, filling my eyes with blinking blue dots. I couldn't feel anything now, though that was probably from shock rather than the injury.

' _You,'_ I whispered, turning to Latios. He met my gaze straight on _. 'You knew about this. Back in the base…you knew about this,'_ I accused, eyes narrowed. It all made sense now! Why my powers weren't working, the headache, Latios's mental anesthesia all that time ago.

I lowered myself to the ground, pulling my knees to my chest. This couldn't be real. Cenric said something to me, but it sounded like he was miles away. I blinked slowly. This wasn't real. Couldn't be. I searched the rocky roof overhead. Asking why. Why me? I barely had any powers to begin with, and now… the world came into sharp focus. I remembered why.

Hilton. He dropped me down the stairs.

' _Look what you've done to me!_ ' I yelled at no one, hot tears streaming down my face. Strong hands grabbed me from behind, and I wriggled in their grip. Cenric clutched me to his chest; I writhed and struggled against his powerful hold to no avail. It was hopeless. I went limp.

Cenric grunted as I fought against his arms. "It'll be alright, Noël. Once we get to Veilstone, we can take you to the Pokémon Center and Nurse Joy will fix it," he said. At that my efforts lessened. Maybe he was right.

"Unlikely," Latios said, staring out into the rain before returning his gaze to us. "Not only is his skull plate broken into multiple small pieces, but it is also heavily interwoven with his psychic power like the rest of his species. An injury like that is not cured so easily."

My hope came and went like a train blowing past, leaving me standard on the platform with a useless ticket in my hand. I wilted in Cenric's arms. Latios was right. I felt Cenric mouthing angry words at Latios, but the faux child went back to staring at the rain again, and paid the human no mind.

"Why don't we go find Hilton?" Cenric said aloud, making final eye contact with Latios. I didn't care. I was as useless as Hilton now, maybe even more so. Cenric gently place me on the ground.

I was broken. The humpty dumpty that all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put back together again. I needed a miracle.

I froze.

No. Not a miracle. What I needed was _him_! He could reverse all of this! I frowned, remembering how Claire's last request to _him_ went. She asked _him_ to fix her ankle, and he said no. I tapped my fingers together thoughtfully.

A human ankle and a ralts's skull plate were different matters. Latios said it wouldn't heal, right? Maybe I could use that to reason with _him_? He was stubborn, but not cruel. Surely, _he_ wouldn't let me live the rest of my life like this, right? Surely… I nodded my head. Okay, that was a plan, but first I needed to get Claire back, then find _him_. After that _he_ could fix my head, and we'd all live happily ever after.

My visions of health and happiness were broken by a tapping on my shoulder.

"Noël!" Cenric insisted, and I had the feeling he'd been trying to get my attention for a while. He pulled himself back into the soaked Reliance hoodie. "What about you? Wanna help look for your friend?"

Friend. The very thought brought a bitter taste to my tongue. _'I think I'll keep watch here in case he comes back,'_ I said. And with that, Cenric and Latios ventured out into the trees. The storm's winds whipped them around dangerously. The way some of them were bent nearly sideways was unsettling.

I watched the trees long after Cenric and Latios disappeared into the blackness, strikes of lightning occasionally illuminating the world in blinding white. It poured even harder, the wind blowing the rain horizontal. Thank Arceus the rock protected me from the brunt of the gale.

"Claire's Ralts?" came a voice from behind, breaking my train of thought. Shivers wracked my spine as I turned around. Only one person called me that. Ever since Hilton's mutation he had a little rasp to the edge of his voice. It must've affected his throat or something.

The large boy limped into our shelter, soaking wet once more. I glared at him, lip curling in disgust. First he tortured my trainer for years, then caused me a debilitating injury, and has the gall to act like we're friends! Unbelievable. I tore my gaze away from him, searching the outside for Latios and Cenric.

' _Where are they?'_ I spat, still not looking at him.

"Who?" Hilton asked, blinking.

' _Latios and Cenric! They're out in the rain looking for you!'_ I shouted, feeling my head spin at the effort. Arceus, give me strength.

"Woah, really? Huh," Hilton said with a shrug, twisting around to sit down beside me.

Lightning stuck a nearby tree, flooding the overhang with white light before deafening thunder followed, shaking the ground. Small pebbles detached themselves from the ceiling, raining down on us.

' _You can't just leave them out there_ _‽_ _'_ I shouted over the pounding raining.

Hilton just cocked his head in confusion. Screaming in frustration, I grabbed Hilton's cargo pants, dragging him towards the rain. Arceus, did I really have to do everything for him? It was like trying to communicate with a toddler! He plodded along easily behind me, and we stepped out into the inky downpour. I followed the fading pair of footprints pressed in the mud as best I could. Time was already washing them away.

Without warning, Hilton twisted, jerking his cargo pants out of my fist; I flailed for balance. "I see 'em! This way!" Hilton cried, running off into a throng of trees. I staggered, trying to steady myself, but tumbled to my knees anyway. Mud splattered on my face, and I wretched back. Coughing, I tried to wipe it off, but since my hands were also covered in mud, I only succeeded in coating my flawless face in a thicker layer of grime. Sputtering, I pushed myself out of the soupy mud, looking around for Hilton.

Panic started to bubble up in my throat. ' _Wait!'_ I called, chasing after him, fighting through the undergrowth just to catch a glimpse of that stupid white hoodie. We couldn't split up! I couldn't be left alone in the woods in the dark! _'That's not the way-!'_

"AHHH!" came a harsh cry, and cold fear wrapped around my body, freezing me to the spot. Had Reliance found him? What if it was a wild pokémon? I couldn't fight anyone! I was too weak!

With trembling hands, I pushed through the last of the shrubbery, hoping the wind and rain would hide the crunching leaves. I pushed the ferns aside, revealing an empty chasm before me. Several feet in front of me a sheer cliff dropped off into a bottomless void. I grabbed at a sapling to keep myself from tumbling over the edge. Several pebbles dropped off into the wet darkness.

I breathed heavily, clinging to the sapling with all the strength in my small arms. The sound of my own heart drowned out the sound of the rain, and I felt the world blur and spin. My breathing was as jagged as the cliff side. I leaned into the sapling, eyes pressed close, trying to steady myself.

Where was Hilton? Oh, Arceus. Lightning crackled followed by an enormous boom that shook the world. I always hated him, but I never wanted him dead!

"Ralts?" came a weak voice from over the edge. I inched nearer, keeping one hand on the sapling and peered over the edge. The cliff cut down at a 90 degree angle before shallowing out for a spell. This constant fluctuation persisted for as far as I could see. Sharp, then shallower, then sharp again. Hilton laid sprawled on the edge of the first shallow, grabbing at the cliff to pull himself up and failing. Both his hands and the rocks were slick from the rain. He couldn't get a solid grip, and when he could the rocks fell loose, pelting him before bouncing off down the cliff and into emptiness. Cruel gusts of wind ripped under Hilton, trying to throw him off the cliff side into oblivion.

"Ralts!" he called again upon seeing me, the sound barely surviving over the howling wind and rain. I stared at him wide-eyed, panic broiling up in my stomach. I was vaguely aware my hands were shaking. My throat went dry. There was nothing I could do. I wasn't physically strong enough to pull him up, and even if my psychic powers _were_ working, I doubted if they'd be strong enough either. I couldn't even get closer to the edge or I'd risk falling myself. Stinging rain attacked my face, forcing it to go numb and burning my eyes. The wind blew Hilton's hair in every direction; the rain dripped down his face like sweat.

' _Can you try and reach that big rock there?'_ I asked, pointing to what looked like a promising handhold. Lightning cracked the heavens open, over-exposing the world for a second in time. It lit up Hilton's face, following the contours of his deformity and making him even more repulsive. The exposure lasted only an instant, followed by darkness and a deafening crash that shook the ground we clung to, sending another barrage of stones to attack Hilton's head and shoulders.

Hilton, thanks to telepathy, heard me and nodded. His wet hoodie clung to him and his body shook. He reached up and, with a great stretch, managed to wrap his pudgy fingers around the rock. Great! From there all he'd have to do was pull himself up.

Hilton heaved, kicking his feet desperately and launching rocks into the chasm. He pulled himself about half way before his muscles froze, shaking. His grip went slack and his slid back down with a muffled cry. He wasn't strong enough! He couldn't lift his own body weight even in a life-or-death situation! I stamped at the ground angrily, steamy tears brimming at my eyes. He was so close! Arceus! I may have wished for his death in passing, but never earnestly! I never wanted him to die in front of me! Not like this!

"Ralts!" Hilton shouted over the storm, "Go get help!" he cried, and even the thunder couldn't cover the desperation in his voice.

Yeah! That's what I'd do! Cenric and Latios had to be out there somewhere! I twisted around and faced the woods. Then paused. The dark trees loomed over me, lit again by a bolt of lightning only to return to blackness. I had no idea where Cenric and Latios were. I'd probably get lost again. What would I do if I got lost? Both of us would die! What if a wild pokémon attacked me? What if there was a flash flood! I felt a pang in my sinuses and a lump in my throat. Fear clenched my organs, twisting them into sick knots. My knees knocked together, and my arms shook; I clung to the sapling, looking up at the sky as rain and wind assaulted my face.

"I can't" I sobbed, and another bolt flashed as if displaying Arceus's displeasure. "I can't do it!" I cried, tears and rain blurring my vision. Hilton would die because he was too weak to pull himself up, and I was too much of a coward to go back into the forest alone. Another strike of lightning split the sky.

"If you want him saved so badly, you send help!" I screamed at the sky, getting bitter rain in my mouth.

"Noël, get away from there!" called a voice, barely carrying over the thunder and wind. I whipped back around to see Cenric emerging from the woods, struggling to push the branches out of his way. Lightning flashed, freezing the moment in bright light. Dark drenched clothes hung off his lean frame, exposing marble skin beneath, like a god sloughing off his mortal form. In that moment I swore Cenric was Arceus himself. But the lightning vanished as quickly as it arrived, and crushing reality followed on wings of thunder. Cenric grabbed me and dragged me away from the edge.

' _No, you don't understand! Hilton-!'_ I cried, beating on his leg.

Cenric's face dropped, eyes widening. He pried me off his leg quickly, holding my shoulders to face him. "Where is Hilton, Noël?" he shouted. I could feel him trying to suppress his own jittery fear.

I pointed to the edge, ' _He can't get up, and I can't—'_

Cenric didn't wait for me to finish. He stood back up and stepped over me. Keeping a hand latched onto a tree at all times, he crept towards the cliff, peering over.

"Hilton!" Cenric exclaimed, spotting the miserable boy. "Hold on, we'll get you out of there!" he shouted, backing away from the cliff again. He turned his back to the crevice to face the woods, and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Latios!" he shouted, with enough force that it echoed through the trees, even over the sound of the wind and rain.

Cenric waited for a moment, but his face lapsed into irritation. "We can't wait!" he mumbled taking a knee. He slung his messenger bag off onto the muddy ground, rummaging through it. His thin hands latched onto an item and yanked it loose, sending a shower of other items into the air, but he didn't care.

He dug through the coils to find an end, and after securing one he jumped back up to his feet. With staggering speed he looped the rope around a thick tree trunk, tying it into an intricate knot. I stepped back, grabbing onto my sapling again to stay out of his way. He grabbed the other loops of braided rope and cautiously approached the edge.

"Hilton!" Cenric shouted, "I'm going to throw a rope down! Use it to climb up!" he said. Then he swung his arms, and released the bundle of rope into the darkness. It arced through the air, unraveling itself, and vanished under the edge. The end connecting it to the tree went taught, springing up into the air.

Still holding the thin tree, I inched closer to the edge. Hilton wrapped his hands around the rope, taking a deep breath. He pulled himself up, legs kicking under him, but gaining no purchase on the slick surface. He face went red and his arms shook as he came to a pause.

"Come on Hilton!" Cenric shouted, but was drowned out by booming thunder. Hilton released the rope with a gasp, sliding back down the cliff. The front of his white hoodie was coated in dirt, and ripped where the rocks tore into it.

Cenric spun around to face the woods again, cupping his hands around his mouth. "LATIOS!" he shouted desperately. The teen turned back around to look at Hilton, eyebrow knit together in worry and frustration.

"I can't!" Hilton moaned, choking on a sob.

Cenric clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to come up with a new solution. "Wait!" he shouted, "tie it around your waist and I'll try pulling you up!"

Hilton nodded, and tied the rope into a crude knot. I looked at it with concern, and looked back at the one Cenric had made on the tree.

"Arceus please let the knot hold," I whispered into the storm. Cenric ran back over to the end of the rope tied around the tree and started undoing it.

' _What are you doing_ _‽'_ I cried. Was he trying to kill Hilton‽

"Gotta pull him up," said Cenric, unwinding the rest of the rope from the tree. Instead of pulling directly back from the cliff in a straight line, Cenric kept the rope wrapped partly around the tree, so he could pull the rope at a sideways angle without any danger of being pulled off the cliff himself.

"Are you ready, Hilton?" Cenric yelled over the rain. A faint "yes" drifted up from the chasm.

Cenric nodded. "Okay, on three! One!" he tightened his hands around the rope, "Two!" he adjusted his footing, and braced himself, "Three!" Cenric shouted throwing his weight back into the rope. He struggled at a standstill, feet sliding in the mud towards the tree. I knew it! Hilton 's weight was too much for him!

Cenric groaned through clenched teeth, pulling back with renewed vigor. He took one step back, then another. Slowly, he inched backwards.

' _You're doing it! Keep going!'_ I shouted, amazed at the sight. I saw the corner of Cenric's mouth twist upwards, but then the line went slack. Lightning streaked across the sky, thunder crackled, and Cenric fell backward, carried by his own momentum. He tumbled into a tree, the back of his head slamming against the gnarled trunk. He shouted in pain, and my own injury in the back of my head sparked in memory.

"Hilton!" yelled Cenric, jumping back to his feet. The drenched boy stumbled towards the cliff, following the limp rope. I rose and followed after, clinging to his leg for support and leaning over the edge.

The rope dangled off to the side without any signs of breaks or tears. The knot must've come loose. I saw Hilton's murky form lying still at the lower ledge, and I fought the urge to avert my eyes. His limbs were sprawled out, and his head angled to the side, eyes closed, but mouth slightly open. He looked dead.

"Hilton!" Cenric shouted again, face contorting into an angry snarl, like his irritation would somehow revive Hilton. I fell back onto my butt numbly. Head filled with white static fuzz. The sensation of being bombarded by cold rain faded, and the sound of the winds and thunder dimmed. The world shrunk, confined to the limits of my body.

Something brushed past me, breaking me out of my trance, and Cenric disappeared over the cliff's edge.

"Cenric!" I shouted. Arceus not him too! He lowered himself down the steep cliff side, holding tight to the rope he'd looped around his own waist.

' _How are you going to pull both of you back up_ _‽'_ I asked, throwing my hands into the air.

Cenric ignored my comment to focus on his descent. His mud-caked boots tested each foothold before putting his weight on it. He reached he left leg down, feeling for a foothold, but didn't find any. He stretched his thin leg out, finding a purchase almost out of reach. With a deep breath he shifted he weight, and for a split second it held. Then the rock came loose from the mud and Cenric went down with it.

He slipped down the rock face, dragging his arms down the jagged stone and trying to regain purchase. He slid to a halt, almost on level with Hilton. He stepped down, and Cenric and I winced simultaneously as he pealed his forearms off the rocks. The fall shredded his sleeves, and I could make out the dark color of blood against his pale skin. Despite his arms, Cenric bent down and untied the rope from his waist, increasing the size of the loop to fit around both boys.

Lightning sliced the sky open, sending down new torrents of rain. The trees behind me rustled and groaned under the wind.

"Latios! You said this was a storm, not a hurricane!" I shouted into the gale, but the wind stole the words from my mouth, carrying them away into the rolling clouds.

Cenric wrapped one arm around Hilton's waist and the other around the rope. Before he could even start the climb, Hilton's limp form started sliding out of his arm. Cenric readjusted his grip with a grimace, grabbing a fistful of Hilton's hoodie. He put one foot on the slope and then the other, attempted to pull himself up, but his feet only slid out from under him. Then, the rope went taught, and started hauling both boys up the rock face.

I spun around to see Latios in his real form, heaving the line backwards.

"Latios!" I cried, running over to him. His crimson eyes flashed in my direction for a moment before focusing back on the gaping chasm. He flew backwards at a steady pace, undeterred by the combined weight of both boys. Cenric's head emerged over the ledge followed by Hilton's. Cenric grappled with the edge pulling himself and Hilton back onto solid ground. He managed to crawl a few feet from the edge cliff before collapsing.

Breathing heavily, soaking wet, and staring at the sky, Cenric's hands worked at the knot, releasing Hilton from his side. The unconscious boy rolled over limply, head lolling to the side.

Latios glided over, tilting down to grab Cenric by the back of his shirt and hauling him up. Staggering, Cenric grabbed a tree to support himself.

"Thanks," he breathed through labored breaths. "We've got to get him back to the cave," he managed, never tearing his eyes from Hilton's pale form.

' _I thought you weren't supposed to move injured humans…'_ I said, eyeing the shallow rise and fall of Hilton's chest. At least he was breathing.

Cenric opened his mouth to respond, but another crack of thunder cut him off. "You're right, but I don't think keeping him out in this weather is much better," he called over the storm.

Latios lowered himself to the ground, so Cenric could pull Hilton's body onto Latios's slick back. Cenric picked me up and carried me in his arms, and we all headed back to through the inky midnight. Rain continued to assault us, but after a while you stopped feeling the cold, only an overwhelming sense of numbness. I saw the trees pass, I heard the thunder, felt the rain, and smelled the forest, but I didn't comprehend any of it. I lost myself to a deep emptiness that some great question or doubt swirled around in, too complex to be put into words.

We arrived back at the overhang, and Cenric carefully slid Hilton off Latios's back and onto the dry pine needles. I huddled back against the cold rock wall. An accessory. There was nothing I could do. After transforming back into a human—fitting beneath the overhang would've been impossible otherwise-Latios positioned himself between the opening and Hilton, watching the raging storm and Hilton in turn. Cenric rummaged through his bags, searching for some nameless object.

Hilton stirred and blinked lazily at us as he tried to regain control of his senses. He stared at me, glassy-eyed and unfocused like a fish in the aquarium.

His skin was pale before, but now it was completely drained of color save for a slight green tinge. His dripping clothes clung to him, and for once his green hair—covered in something dark and sticky-was pushed out of his face, making him seem very small. The severity of these changes even made his mutation seem less obscene.

"It wasn't my fault," I found myself mumbling. "You went off in the wrong direction. It was you who ran off the cliff. And you who couldn't pull himself up," I said.

He blinked slowly.

"It wasn't my fault…" I persisted, "I couldn't have gone for help… Besides Cenric and Latios came eventually…" I said, but it didn't settle the sick feeling in my stomach. I was no better than he was, and it made me want to vomit.

Since I was speaking aloud Latios was the only one who could understand me, but he showed no signs of it.

"Hilton, you're conscious," Cenric said, looking over with a sigh of relief. He slumped against the wall, running his hands through his hair.

I frowned and the sick, twisted feeling in my gut worsened. Cenric never worried about walking alone in the woods, and when Cenric saw Hilton in trouble, he actually did something about it. Even the ex-Reliance grunt was a better person than me. And here I was feeling sorry for myself. Of course this only made me feel more pitiful, and the crushing self-deprecating cycle spiraled downwards.

"He needs to go to the hospital," Cenric murmured, eyes drifting between Latios and the rain, and breaking me from my self-loathing. "He hit his head. He might have a concussion. We're still about an hour away on foot. Latios, now that you can transform again, is there anyway way you could…?" Cenric trailed off.

Latios laughed at that. Once. "With the state he's in and in this weather? We might as well go back and throw him off the cliff," he said, leaning his head back against the wall.

Cenric's expression soured. "He needs to go to the hospital now. He could be bleeding internally or something. Can't you just go over the clouds?" he asked, eyes flashing to Hilton.

Latios scowled. "Even now that the cells are lower, that altitude is too high for humans, or am I mistaken that your species takes badly to -20 degree weather?" he asked, sneering at the end.

Cenric twisted his fingers, scowling out at the rain in frustration. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, filling the silence. He finally turned his gaze to Hilton.

"Hilton, we've got to get you checked out by a doctor as soon as possible, okay? We can stay here a few more minutes, but we need to keep moving," he said softly, slowly.

Hilton didn't respond, but his glassy eyes were trained on Cenric. That green pallor still tinged his skin.

Cenric's dark eyes glanced up to Latios. "Can you at least carry him on your back? The less he has to move, the better," Cenric said.

Latios frowned, eyes flicking over Cenric. After an agonizing silence, he consented. "I suppose I can manage that much in my present state."

Cenric opened his mouth to comment, but Latios continued before he could.

"It was very rash to lower yourself off that cliff. You could have died," Latios commented, sounding casual, but staring Cenric in the eye unblinkingly.

"I-I couldn't just leave him there. No one would," Cenric managed, looking to me for reassurance. My stomach tightened.

I would have. I did.

"Most humans wouldn't risk their lives for someone they met hours ago," Latios continued dryly. I wished I had my telempathy back. What was Latios getting at?

Cenric just shrugged, pushing his wet bangs out of his face. "I'm sure other people would've tried," he insisted.

"You have amazing and ill-placed faith in the human race," Latios said icily.

Cenric frowned, going to cross his arms, but he winced at the action. Gingerly, he pealed the sleeves of his hoodie, and then his turtleneck back, revealing forearms blackened by bruises.

I gasped at the extent of the injury. I watched his arms grind against the rocks at the cliff, but I didn't know it the extent of the damage…

Dark bruises bloomed on his forearms like roses, a canvas for a thick grid of cuts and scrapes. Even without my telempathy, just looking at it made my own arms ache. He shook his head and gave a little sigh.

' _You'll need to get that treated,'_ I said dumbly, allowing the first words that came to mind to leave it.

"Nothing gets past you Noël, does it?" Cenric said forcing a smile. He turned his attention to Hilton, the fake smile pressing into a thin, concerned line. "How you feeling, Hilton? Think maybe we can start moving and get you to a hospital?"

"Mmm fine, juss gimmie few more minutes," Hilton slurred, trying to push himself up. Cenric's eyebrows pressed together in concern as he ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, we can wait five more minutes, but then we really have to get moving. Once we get to Veilstone, we can get you checked out by a doctor, Latios can go wherever he wants, and I can tell the police what's been going on. Then I have to call my family…" he said, trailing off into a mumble and staring out into the dark rain.

Latios laughed at that. "I'm sure they'll be delighted to hear from you. Make sure you mention the part where you kidnapped people and experimented on them," he added with a mocking grin. "What were you, and only child? The golden boy? Won't they be delighted to see you behind bars."

Cenric glared at Latios. "I thought I told you, I'm not from Sinnoh. All my family is in Hoenn, and there are eight of them," he growled.

' _You have eight people in your family?'_ I asked incredulously. Being born in a daycare, and never knowing any of my biological family, I couldn't imagine having seven of them running around.

"Eight of them, nine including me," Cenric added. "Two parents and six siblings. Well, seven with me. Parents figured it was lucky. They'd fight all the time. My siblings, I mean. Caleb and Catherine were older, but Carlisle, Charlie, Cindy, and Cate were younger." Cenric went on, never looking at us. His eyes stayed frosted over as he stared out in the rain, voice growing quiet as he forgot about us. "Everybody had opinions. Someone was always fighting, always trying to convince the neutral party to take one side or another. I guess that's why I left," Cenric mumbled. Lightning struck again, rattling the world with its thunder.

Latios just rolled his eyes, upper lip curling in distain, but thankfully he held his biting remark back for once.

"I didn't run away," he explained quickly, "I never really expressed a desire to become a pokémon trainer, but it just became too much, you know? So I left to see the world, and maybe find out what I believed in, not what anyone else told me to believe in. I never expected anything like this to happen," he said, voice melting out to be replaced by the sound of night rain. Silence fell with the rain, each lost in our own thoughts.

What would've my family have been like? Having a mother and a father around would've been nice…maybe they would've raised a son who would go through forests for help instead of just standing there like a coward.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** I actually wrote so much about rain this chapter I convinced myself it was raining outside. Maybe I should take a break. Alright, so who's your favorite character now? Least favorite? How many more times will Latios try to strangle Cenric before they make it to Veilstone?

 **Fun Fact** : Version 4's first chapter started in Valley Windworks. Noël beat a shellos with a stick, and somehow the shellos ended up getting itself stuck to a windmill.


	4. A Grey Recovery

**Chapter 4: A Grey Recovery**

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I sat alone in the empty waiting room, feet swinging off the chair. Grey morning light sliced through the window, muddied by an overcast sky. Clouds consumed the tops of the black ridges Veilstone's buildings jutted into. Even through the haze I could see the faint flicker of neon lights from the Game Corner dying the fog.

Last night passed in a blur. Cenric and Latios dragged Hilton the rest of the way to the Veilstone hospital, and shortly after the police arrested Cenric and Latios vanished to who-knows-where, leaving me alone in the hospital while doctors and nurses sequestered Hilton away from the world. For a moment I resented Hilton for his problems. The mutations and his concussion. It took my focus off Claire. Why did I care about what happened to him? Claire should take priority, not her creepy stalker.

Bare hospital walls surrounded the small waiting room, defaulting to beige, grey, or white. A vision of the Reliance base's endless white halls flashed through my sore head. I shuddered. The waiting room smelled sterile. The woman who kidnapped us smelled the same way. Her skin and hair looked bleached, and the lines on her clothes were too hard. She looked like the inside of a hospital. What was her name? Did I ever know?

A ceiling fan spun lazily above me, barely moving the air. Some sort of office squished into the wall, and a dead-eyed secretary stared at her computer, but never typed. The tile floors were too clean.

I looked around for something to take my mind of those heavy thoughts. Two-year-old magazines laid scattered on a coffee table, pages asunder, too far for me to reach. I couldn't read the human language, but I scanned the covers. Humans in battle gear, fine jewelry, and swimsuits stared back at me. Their smiles were too white.

A TV hung in a corner played silently, black bars of subtitles flickering across the screen. Wide-eyed newscasters talked 60 miles a minute while pictures flashed behind them. One of the hospital, one of a police officer pushing away from the cameras, and one too blurry to see. The screen flashed to hazy footage of the woods, where a rain coated reporter gestured to the wreckage behind her. With a start, I recognized the scene. That was the Reliance base Latios destroyed! Rescue workers and police officers plowed over the wet twisted metal.

The image flashed to a greasy man seated behind a desk with a fake cityscape behind him. The dead-eyed secretary grabbed the remote, unmuting the television.

The irate anchor's voice echoed in the empty waiting room. "This is outrageous! Reliance has been kidnapping trainers and experimenting on them for months! And what did the Pokémon League or International Police do about it? Nothing! They didn't even know!" he roared. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have the chairman and founder of Independence live with us from Hoenn, Ms. Christine Allen!" he announced gesturing to the screen behind him. The footage flipped to a blurry studio where a blonde, middle-aged woman sat. Her flowing blouse only made her look even smaller amidst the harsh studio lights. She forced a smile and waved at the camera.

"I'm just sorry I couldn't be there with you in-person, Stan," she said, sounding quiet against the anchor's barking.

"No problem, no problem! Now, Independence and Reliance have never gotten along, so would you mind telling us what your reaction to this shocking news?" Stan asked, head constantly twisting from the camera to the screen behind him.

Christine nodded, "We're outraged at Reliance's disregard for human life. This is a completely new low for them," she said, finally speaking up. "Reliance must be stopped, but I urge all of your viewers to leave this to the police and the League. Reliance is too dangerous for vigilante justice. Independence set up a website where you can donate to help support the victims of this tragedy and fund the research to undo this awful affliction."

An image of volunteers in pale green and khakis—Independence colors—crawling over the rubble flicked onto the screen. Their pastels stood out amongst the charred twisted metal. As soon as the image appeared, it was gone, replaced by the greasy host.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you can find the address at the bottom of your screen, and lets all give a big hand for Ms. Christine Allen. Next after the break—" the secretary muted the television, cutting the anchor off. The footage flashed back to the wreckage of the base, and I craned my head for a better look, but the door opened, and a tired procession walked through.

' _Cenric! You made it here! The police let you go!'_ I cried, jumping off the chair and stumbling towards him, trying to ignore the slew of medical personnel and security guards tailing after him.

"Noël," he said, picking me up with a weary smile. The circles beneath his eyes looked even darker in the light, and his hair looked frayed. He'd changed out of his Reliance uniform and into a t-shirt and sweats, revealing the white bandages that snaked around his forearms. A spattering of band-aids and bruises covered the rest of his exposed skin. "They haven't let me go, I just got checked by a doctor," he said. "I wondered where you were. I thought you'd be in there with Hilton."

' _They won't let me, and Latios left,'_ I said, glaring at the nurses behind us.

"He's been in ICU for hours, no one goes in," the head nurse grumbled. "Wait here," she said, guiding Cenric into one of the waiting room seats. The remaining nurses and interns scattered, leaving us alone in the room with the burly security guard who took regular glances at Cenric.

' _They aren't going to lock you away in prison, are they?'_ I asked, yawning in his lap.

Cenric shrugged with all the energy he could muster. "Who knows. Apparently Maylene herself wants to meet me here," he said, running a hand through his hair.

Maylene? Who was…Oh! That pink-haired gym leader with the baby face! Claire almost beat her the first time until Hilton crashed the match and got all of us thrown out. That seemed like forever ago.

' _Have you seen Latios?'_ I asked, not entirely sure I'd missed him.

Cenric cast a sideways glance towards the guard before responding. "No, I haven't seen _Lawrence_ around. I though he came here," he said stiffly.

' _Wait, who's Lawrence?'_ I asked, face twisting in confusion.

"You know, the _kid_ that came with us," he stressed.

I blinked in comprehension. _'Wait, why can't we call him Latios?'_

"The police decided it'd be best to limit…" Cenric cut himself off with a look the guard.

' _Well, I haven't seen_ _ **Lawrence**_ _around then,'_ I said, yawning again, not that my name for him matter since I spoke telepathically.

Before Cenric could respond, a patient stumbled into the waiting room, pulling their IV drip behind them and tailing by several anxious looking nurses. I gaped at the sight. The patient sported neon green stripes all over his body. He must've been another escapee. Before I could finish processing this, the procession continued. People in scrubs and hospital gowns spilled out from one door, trudging to the other with blank eyes and expressionless mouths. A majority of the patients had notable defects. One woman's nose twisted in on itself, another's forearms hung boneless at her sides, flopping around with every step. A ball of matted fur passed that must've been a child at one point, and a teenage boy dyed magenta followed. No one's mutations compared to Hilton though. It'd be possible for them to live life like that, but Hilton….with a face like that he'd be a pariah. His awful personality didn't help either.

Cenric shrunk in his seat, keeping his eyes low.

Upon noticing his distress, I said, _'Don't feel bad. You were the one who freed them remember?'_ I said, trying to comfort him, but it was difficult without my telempathy to take cues from.

"No, I was part of this. Even if I didn't do it directly, it's still my fault," he said, voice barely audible. He pinched the bridge of his nose, before running his hands over his dirty face. The door closed for a final time, but before I could gather my bearings, another form pushed in with a shock of messy magenta hair. Her taught muscles tense enough to snap at the slightest provocation betrayed her lithe frame, concealed in part by a hastily-donned t-shirt. Even the circles beneath her eyes, and eyebrows knitted together did little to make her look older, despite being in her twenties by now. I couldn't help but notice the buneary slippers she wore on her feet.

Maylene's eyes locked on Cenric, mouth twisting in contemplation as she walked over. After giving him a cautious once over, she offered him her hand. "Maylene, and that makes you Cenric, right?" she asked.

Cenric took the gym-leader's hand gingerly, keeping an eye on his own bandaged arm. "I am Cenric," he said, voice low like it was a confession of guilt.

Maylene cast her eyes on the nearby security guard. "Thanks, Hank. I've got it from here," she said, nodding.

The guard's eyes widened. "But-! He's-!" the man started, but Maylene just waved him off.

"Don't worry, I have my team with me," she said, shoving a hand in her pocket and withdrawing an ultra ball.

The man protested. "What am I going to tell Officer White? She gave me strict instructions to—"

Maylene cut him off. "Tell her if she has a problem with it, she can call me, alright?" Maylene said, rubbing her temples before turning her gaze back to Cenric and then me. Her expression softened.

She took a knee to get on my level while I watched her cautiously from Cenric's lap.

"And who are you?" she murmured, gazing at me with those big blue eyes.

Should I open a telepathic connection with her? It was so…intimate. Then again, I'd met her before…But I never really _met_ met her… But—

"Does this ralts belong to you?" Maylene asked, looking up at Cenric, apparently deciding for me.

Cenric shook his head. "We escaped together and traveled to Veilstone, but his trainer is still missing. His name's Noël."

"Noël," she repeated, looking back at me. "That's a very nice name. I'm sure your trainer loves you very much," she said. I forced a smile. Claire never nicknamed her pokémon . I was named by the couple who hatched me at the daycare.

"I raised a ralts, more than one, in fact, I'd—wait, what's this?" she murmured, leaning to look around me. She reached a hand for the back of my head, never touching it. "Did Reliance do this to you," she murmured, withdrawing her hand.

"He fell as we were trying to escape," Cenric clarified.

"What did Nurse Joy say about it," she asked, sill staring at the crack in the back of my skull.

Cenric looked to me for answers, but I shrugged.

' _I haven't left the hospital since we got here,'_ I told him. His eyes widened.

"You're joking," he said, running another hand through his hair. Cenric looked up to Maylene with a sigh. "He hasn't been to the Pokémon Center yet," he said.

Maylene rolled back on her feet and pushed herself up from the floor in a single fluid motion. "Well, I guess that's what we're doing now, but you and I Cenric, still need to talk. Walk with me?" she asked, offering Cenric a hand. He set me on top of his shoulder before taking it.

The security guard opened his mouth to object again, but before he could we were gone. The two of us trailed after Maylene through the white, winding corridors as worried doctors, nurses, interns, and volunteers ran past.

"The hospital staff is stretched pretty thin right now thanks to all those people you freed," Maylene murmured, pressing the down button on the elevator.

"Are they going to be alright?" Cenric asked, looking at his feet. Maylene waited for the door to slide close to answer him.

"I don't know," she said, watching his expression. My thoughts went back to Hilton. I'm sure having a concussion didn't help his odds. "The doctors are doing everything they can, but from what I can gather they've never even seen anything like this before," she said, frowning.

The elevator door slid open again, and we followed Maylene to a bland cafeteria. She walked up to three silver urns, glancing back at Cenric.

"Coffee?" she asked, pulling a large cup for herself.

"Coffee would be great," Cenric admitted with a weak smile. "I didn't sleep last night at all."

"Mmm," Maylene hummed in agreement, offering him a second large cup.

I watched from Cenric's arms as Maylene grabbed a handful of sugar packets, meticulously ripping and pouring each one in into the empty cup. Cenric paused, watching her. She went for another handful, adding packet after packet to the mountain of empty wrappers beside her. After using half the hospital's sugar and filling her empty cup a solid third of the way with white granules, Maylene decided it would now be sweet enough.

"I still have a bit of a sweet tooth," she explained sheepishly upon seeing Cenric's gaping mouth.

"I-I can see that," he managed, still staring wide-eyed as she added cream to the cup, but it wasn't enough liquid to even make a sugary slush. Instead, the grains of sugar just clumped like rocks.

"How do you take your coffee?" she asked after a yawn, filling the last third of her cup with actual coffee.

"Black," Cenric said, dragging his gaze off her caffeinated abomination to fill his own.

Maylene escorted us the rest of the way out of the hospital with only quiet sips of coffee to fill the silence between us. The hospital's final doors slid open in front of us, letting a surge of humid wind brush past us. Heavy grey clouds rolled down the surrounding cliffs like molasses, blocking the sun and trapping the humidity. This wet heat was foreign to Sinnoh. I could feel it clinging, sticking to my limbs until I felt like an alien in my own skin.

Maylene stepped out into the parking lot, and even her previously-vibrant hair seemed duller in the grey light. At the sight, Cenric took a large swig of his coffee before stepping after her.

The slight gym leader held back, allowing Cenric to catch up so they could walk side by side. The humans began conversing in hushed, serious tones. I tried to pay attention, but my tired mind kept slipping away. When I had been in Veilstone last the city seemed so bright and loud. Glittering women with shopping bags. Men with poker chips and laughter on their lips. Flickering neon. A cerulean sea. I glanced over in the direction the ocean should be, but gray haze and sharp ridges blocked it from me. The dark skeleton of a building perched on the top the highest ridge, watching the city like some predatory bird, waiting for the city to lower its defenses and pick at its core. The ruins of the old Galactic Headquarters.

I heard my name, and my attention came crashing back to my immediate surroundings.

"I wasn't there at the time, but from what I understand in the commotion he fell down the stairs," Cenric said.

I growled at that. I was _dropped_ down the stairs. This debilitating injury was no fault of my own. That burden landed solely on Hilton.

"And you found him at the bottom of the stairs?" she asked.

"No…" Cenric said, thick brows crunching together. "Noël ran into Lati- _Lawrence_ first," he said, rubbing his bruised neck absently.

Maylene sighed, downing the rest of her diabetic nightmare before tossing it into a trashcan across the street with a smooth flick of her wrist. It didn't even touch the sides. After looking around at the vacant, foggy street, she turned back to Cenric.

"I know you've already told the police everything," she said in a low voice, "But is there anything else you can tell me about the legendaries they've been capturing?" she asked.

Before Cenric could answer a small figure appeared through the fog, steadily approaching us. Maylene stiffened, reaching down into her pocket and laying a hand on an ultra ball.

"Lawrence," Cenric breathed, eyes widening.

The irritated false-child walked up to us, thin arms crossed across his chest with a scowl carved into his wide face. The humidity turned his previously wavy blue hair frizzy until it surrounded his head like a halo.

"Lawrence, my name's Maylene, Veilstone's gym leader," Maylene said, offering him a hand. "It's an honor to meet you."

Latios scoffed at her hand, rolling his crimson eyes. "Who's Lawrence?"

Awkwardly, Maylene withdrew her hand. "That's what we've been calling you. We decided it'd be best to keep the information about legendaries away from the public to avoid a mass panic. At least until the League meets and decides how to handle this," she added.

"So we were right," Cenric breathed. "They have been hunting them…" he looked up, head cocked in confusion. "Wait, if the League didn't even know Reliance was kidnapping people and pokémon until we escaped, how do you know they have more legendaries?"

I frowned. Cenric had a point, but the League still didn't know the most important piece of information. Reliance captured _him_. My eyes widened. Arceus, they _didn't_ know! I had to tell Maylene!

Before I could work up the courage, Latios snuffed. "You would have to be deaf and blind not to see the signs of the legendaries disappearing," he said.

"Wha-?" Cenric started to ask, but Lawrence's excessive sigh shut him down.

"I knew humans are generally inept about such things, but you truly can't feel it in the air? The entire world is on edge," Lawrence growled, gesturing to the mountains towering above us. "At least notice the weather for god's sake, or is 98% humidity normal for a city like this in Sinnoh of all places?" he asked snidely.

Maylene nodded. "For the past couple weeks, weather patterns have been shifting across the globe, but we—the League-didn't think to relate it to Reliance until now," she explained. "I can't believe we were so blind."

"You can't?" Lawrence sneered.

Maylene scowled at him, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

I had to tell her! The humans needed to know! I mentally collected the small bundle of psychic power I needed to initiate the telepathic connection. But what if she didn't believe me? What if she laughed at me? She'd think it was a joke. I shrunk on top of Cenric's shoulder. Glancing up from beneath my skull plate, I saw everyone looking at me. I froze. Looking panicked, I glanced between Cenric and Maylene.

"I asked you if it was okay if we make a detour from the pokémon center?" Maylene repeated kindly. "I have potions at my house to hold you over," she offered. "Is that alright with you? Do you think you can hang on until then?" she asked.

' _Reliance has Dialga,'_ I blurted out, forgetting to limit the range of my telepathy. Everyone stopped, staring at me with unblinking eyes. I cringed away from their gazes.

I heard Latios scoff from behind us like a sarcastic shadow. "Pull the other one," he mumbled.

Cenric inhaled sharply. "Arceus. He's right," Cenric gasped, eyes unfocused as his mind ran a mile a minute. Cenric barely managed finish the statement before Latios was in front of us.

"What‽" hissed Lawrence, face inches from mine, pupils contracted to pinpricks. "What did you say?" he whispered, going pale.

' _It's true! I swear,'_ I cried, cowering.

"That's impossible," he finally whispered. "Dialga exists in a separate dimension."

' _Until he started traveling with Claire last year,'_ I squeaked.

"You're joking," Maylene said, massaging her temples. "Reliance managed to capture the God of time? Tell me you're joking," she said in a pleading tone.

"Arceus," Cenric breathed.

Lawrence tensed at that, carmine eyes darting up to Cenric's face. He approached us, face dark.

"Wait a second, Lawrence," Cenric said, taking several steps backwards.

"You knew about this?" Lawrence hissed, barely audible, and before Cenric could respond, Lawrence jumped forward, plowing his elbow into Cenric's stomach.

Yelping, I jumped down onto the muddy ground. The impact sent sparks shooting through my body.

Cenric inhaled sharply. He doubled over, clutching his stomach. Lawrence pulled back for another jab.

"Lawrence stop!" Maylene shouted, groping for her poké balls. "For god's sake, let him explain!"

With narrowed eyes, Lawrence held his punch. Maylene scooped me off the ground to keep me from getting crush underfoot.

"You've got to stop doing that," Cenric managed voice ragged.

"I should kill you," Latios growled.

"Arceus, you're insane," Cenric gasped, trying to steady himself.

"Do not use his name in vain!" Latios roared, taking a step towards Cenric.

"Lawrence!" Maylene shouted, words falling on deaf ears. She pulled out an ultra ball, muscles tensed to hurl it in Lawrence's direction.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Cenric wheezed, backing away from Latios and putting his hands up in surrender. "I-I swear didn't know about Dialga," he said, pulling himself up to lean back against the building.

"Liar!" Latios spat.

"You have to believe me!" he pleaded. "I told you I only ever saw Claire over the security cams with that blonde woman! The admins made a big deal about it, but I couldn't figure out why until now," he explained.

"You do realize that if Reliance can learn to control Dialga, our lives are forfeit. We might as well not even exist. Reliance can rewrite history however they like," Latios said voice low.

"Hey!" Maylene barked. "The two of you better cool it. You especially Lawrence. We're not your enemies. Reliance is. Cenric is the best source of information we have right now, and the League can't afford to lose him, got it?"

Lawrence took a step towards us, teeth bared. Maylene shifted me to one arm, holding her poké ball in the other.

"You're all fools!" Lawrence shouted. With an explosion of light, he transformed back into a pokémon before jetting into the air. The gust of wind he generated almost knocked Maylene off her feet and sent Cenric tumbling sideways.

"Lawrence! Come back!" Maylene yelled into the grey sky, but he vanished into the ocean of clouds. "Great," she huffed, stepping forward to help Cenric up with her free hand.

"Thanks," Cenric said, dissolving into a coughing fit.

"Are you alright? Do we need to go back to the hospital?" she asked, steadying him with a strong arm.

Cenric shook his head, rubbing his sore stomach with a grimace.

"Alright, I need you both to come with me," she said grimly, grabbing Cenric's wrist and dragging him behind us.

"Tell me about this blonde woman you mentioned," Maylene said, taking us through a narrow alleyway and onto another abandoned street. "Is she about 5'6, twenties, long platinum blonde hair. About mid-back length?" Maylene asked.

"You've met her?" asked Cenric from behind, surprise tinging his hoarse voice.

Maylene shook her head. "Never personally."

"Then how-?"

"Her name is Cyan. The League thinks she's the leader of Reliance," Maylene said, frown deepening. Thin brows pressed down on her magenta eyes. "Does that sound about right?"

I heard Cenric sigh. "Could be? They left all the new grunts in the dark about things like that. We had a base manager, and sometimes an admin would stop in to check on us, but I don't know about anyone higher than that," he explained.

Maylene pulled us onto a new street just as empty as the last. Pregnant clouds above weighed down on us like we were hundreds of leagues beneath the ocean. No face looked out from the walls of windows towering over us. The identical geometry of the houses was only broken when dark ridges cut into the earth, varying in size and intensity. Instead of fighting the rock, the humans just built steps into them.

Maylene brought us to a ledge lacking steps. It was steep, full of jagged edges, and slippery with rain water. After coming to a stop, she released Cenric, withdrawing her poké ball again and tossing it into the air. A hulking grey humanoid with four arms loomed above us, eyeing Cenric and me with his beady black eyes.

"Machamp," she said, nodding her head towards the ledge.

Machamp took one look at Cenric and nodded. With ease he wrapped an arm around Maylene's torso, hoisting us into the air and placing us on his right shoulder. He shifted Maylene to one side, putting her on his left shoulder and holding her in place with his top left arm. He reached down and grabbed Cenric with his two right arms, throwing him up on his right shoulder in an identical position to Maylene. With his bottom two arms free, he scaled the slope with ease, powerful muscles twisting beneath us.

Before us stood an expansive, familiar building with a russet roof. The half poké ball logo on the front and ever-present signpost marked it clearly: the Veilstone City Gym. Maylene, still holding onto me with one arm, dug her fist into her pockets, searching. She pulled out a key and dropped it into Machamp's hand.

He approached a side door blended in to the surrounding wall. With some difficulty, Machamp inserted the key into the lock. He turned the key a little too roughly, and a metallic snap rang out. He looked up worriedly at Maylene, but she gave him an encouraging smile. Flushing, he turned the knob. It came off in his hand. Maylene gave him a sympathetic pat. Finally, he ripped the door off its hinges, tiptoed inside, and placed the broken door back as gently as possible.

Maylene leaned over and flicked a light switch, revealing a narrow hallway. The strong smell of sweat hit my nose, and I looked down at the Machamp only to find the whole cliff-climbing and door-busting business hadn't caused him to break a sweat. The stench came from the gym itself. I crinkled my nose as we progressed through the hall, glad Claire didn't spend long hours moving metal in smelly gyms like this.

The narrow hall led into an expansive unlit room. Probably the main room of the gym.

Machamp rounded the corner, following the wall of the gym, so we stayed on the outside. I thought I could make out the outline of punching bags and lockers, but I couldn't be sure.

Machamp passed the main room and turned up into a narrow staircase. Reaching the top and still holding onto us, he reached for a door –thankfully it stood ajar—and entered. He dropped Cenric on a vinyl couch and set Maylene more gently down in a chair.

"Thanks, Machamp," Maylene called, withdrawing her pokémon. The gym leader dug around on the coffee table, locating a little rectangle box. Lifting the box into the air, she clicked a button and the lights flicked on.

The light revealed a small room that, Arceus bless, _didn't_ smell like sweat. There was a line of bookshelves on the back wall, windows covered in heavy curtains to our right, and the couch and recliner faced the front wall, on which a large TV screen sat.

"Sorry about that," Maylene said, lowering me onto the space of armchair beside her. "I guess I'm just impatient and frustrated. Arceus, what are we going to do," she asked, hanging her head in her hands.

I looked from Maylene to Cenric with concern. Neither human spoke, instead staring blankly at the carpet.

With a deep breath, Maylene shifted. "Well, not talking about it won't make it go away," she mumbled, grabbing a black cord off the floor and plugging it into her cross-transceiver. The TV screen before us flicked to life, displaying what her cross-transceiver would've. She scrolled through her contacts –an extensive list of gym leaders, elite four members, and fighting specialist—before finding the name she sought.

Cynthia.

Connecting…. Connecting…

A picture of a dark room, moon shining in from the window, and the blonde champion of Sinnoh flashed on the screen. If I didn't know any better, I almost looked like she was in her PJ's eating out of a tub of ice cream. She swallowed, putting the spoon down.

"Maylene!" the champion exclaimed, "Any news-?" she paused staring at Cenric. "That's him, isn't it?" she asked, face going grim. Maylene nodded. Cynthia sighed. "Give me a minute," she said, and the screen went black.

Cenric turned to Maylene. "Why are you guys using cross-transceivers? Isn't that old tech? Why not Holo Casters or anything newer?"

Maylene sighed, running a finger over her pink cross-transceiver. "The Holo Casters had some security issues Team Flare exploited, and the new communication devices don't rate as high security-wise as the cross-transceiver, so we're stuck using old technology." The screen flashed back up, and Cynthia sat in a study similar to ours, assumedly facing a large screen that displayed us. The ice cream was gone, she pulled her long hair back into a neater ponytail, and she slipped into a black shrug to cover her gible pajamas.

"How bad is it," Cynthia asked, glancing between Maylene and Cenric.

"Well the hospital is treating twenty trainers, and they're now under observation. We've got twice that amount in pokémon over at the Pokémon Center," Maylene began, shifting uncomfortably. "The search teams are still bringing back a few stragglers though."

"And the base? Did you find anything?" the blonde asked.

Maylene shook her head, clenching her fists. "It's all ash. The cleanup team is still working, but they told me the odds of finding any usable evidence at this point is pretty low."

Cynthia cursed, knitting her thin brows together. "Reliance has always been good at covering their tracks, otherwise we would've had them all in prison months ago," she grumbled, body leaning against the chair's arm rest for support.

"And about the latios…" Maylene hedged, and Cynthia leaned forward, watching Maylene intently.

"He's fine, albeit not very co-operative," Maylene went on, dancing around the issue.

Cynthia nodded. "Understandable."

"But there's something else we just found out…" the gym leader said. "It's bad," Maylene added, shrinking in her chair.

"Wait," Cynthia said holding up her hand and pulling herself back out of the chair. "I have someone else who needs to hear this," she said, vanishing out of frame.

"Arceus," Maylene mumbled, running her hands over her face in defeat.

I wished I could block them out. Just hearing all these absurd things that'd happened to me over the past twenty-four hours made it seem real. I couldn't pretend it was a bad dream for much longer.

I heard a door open on the other end, and Cynthia dragged a man in frame, putting him down on the couch next to her. I recognized him instantly. The battle strategy book Claire poured over every night kept his portrait right next to the other champions.

"Steven!" Maylene said in shock, "I mean—Mr. Stone. I-I didn't know you were in Sinnoh."

Steven smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Steven is fine, and I'm not in Sinnoh. Cynthia did me the honor of visiting Mossdeep City."

"You're in Hoenn‽" Maylene exclaimed.

Cynthia nodded grimly. "Only for a few days, so I didn't bother telling anyone. You know how the press is. Bad timing, eh?"

At that Maylene frowned, twisting her hands.

I couldn't help but notice Steven had a smudge of chocolate ice cream by his mouth and wore matching pajama pants with Cynthia—excepting for beldum spotting them instead of gible.

Is that really what champions did in their free time? I guess I always assumed they were training or doing photoshoots. They all seemed pretty enough to model-for humans, I mean. Even though Steven's shoulders slumped, and dark lines hung from his eyes, it was hard to miss his smooth complexion and silver hair that managed some semblance of style even in its disheveled state.

"I've told Steven everything you've told me, but you said there was something even more important?" Cynthia asked, leaning forward in her seat, face resting in her hands.

Maylene took a deep breath. "You know they captured Latios, but we just found out—"

"They're capturing legendaries," Steven finished in a low voice.

Cynthia's spine went ramrod straight, wide eyes darting between Maylene and the man beside her. "That's impossible," she whispered.

"The storms, the earthquakes, the changing weather patterns-" Steven said quickly.

"—is because when they capture legendaries they're throwing the world out of balance," Cynthia finished, staring at us in shock.

"They don't have Kyogre, Groudon, or Rayquaza. Of that I'm sure. The effects would be much more noticeable," Steven said.

"Same for Xerneas and Yveltal, Heatran, and of course, Arceus, Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina. They're safe in different dimensions," Cynthia added. I felt a pit in my stomach.

"Cresselia, Darkrai, and any meloetta could be gone and we wouldn't know," mused Steven. "Reshiram should still be with White, and you said N gave Zekrom to Rosa, right?" he asked

Cynthia nodded, "Both of those girls are strong enough to hold their own, especially with legendaries backing them up. If something would have happened to them, we would have heard about it. ….But I did hear there was a trainer with a jirachi around, if Reliance captured him…" Cynthia mumbled, and she and Steven leaned in close. Counting on fingers and mumbling about various legendaries.

"T-that's the thing," Maylene broke in, voice wavering. Both champions looked to her. "They do have Dialga. Or at least we think they do," she said, voice hoarse.

"What‽" shouted the champions simultaneously.

"That's impossible!" Steven said.

"The Adamant Orb was lost and the Red Chain was destroyed," Cynthia added. The pit in my stomach grew larger.

I turned to Maylene, ' _Tell them there are parts of it left, and Reliance has some now.'_ Maylene relayed this information numbly.

"How do you know this," Steven finally asked, blinking in shock.

Maylene pointed to me. "This ralts's trainer was traveling with Dialga when she was kidnapped."

"It's possible Reliance knew and was targeting her because of it," Steven supplied.

"But how? No one has even seen Dialga since the Galactic incident on Mt. Coronet," Cynthia said. "The Red Chain shattered. Lucas told me himself."

' _Claire was given a fraction of the Red Chain, when she went to the top of the mountain, he just appeared and decided to travel with her,'_ I said.

"The god of time decided he wanted to travel with her?" Maylene repeated skeptically.

I threw my hands into the air. _'I don't know why! But when a time god asks for something, you can't really say 'no thanks, I'm not interested'!'_ I said. _'But you've got to believe me!'_ I cried.

"Noël says his trainer had part of the Red Chain," Maylene continued slowly.

"And the Reliance grunt can confirm this?" Steven asked, shifting his eyes to Cenric.

Cenric frowned at the label, but didn't protest. Instead he just nodded. "I can't say for sure, but around the time Noël, Hilton, and Claire were captured there was a lot of secretive stuff going on at my base. There were several admins there, including that blonde woman. It all happened in the middle of the night, so if Dialga was still trapped inside a poké ball, it's possible he could've slipped in and out as easily as any other pokémon," he said.

"Arceus, of all the times for me to be out of Sinnoh," Cynthia groaned, resting her head in her hands.

Steven reached over, rubbing circles in her back. "Why haven't they used his power yet?" he asked.

Cynthia lifted her head, looking up at Maylene. "You said when Reliance captured your trainer, she only had a fraction of the Red Chain?" the champion asked, fingers pressed to her lips.

Maylene turned to me, and I nodded.

"It seems that way," the gym leader relayed.

"It's possible," Cynthia started slowly, "that _if_ the Red Chain is incomplete, they won't be able to control him, just restrain him," she said.

"That's great news then!" Maylene exclaimed, finally brightening.

Cynthia shook her head, mouth pressed into a grim line. "We know they managed to recruit some of the Flare scientists. Those girls figured how to revive and restrain Yveltal, if only for a while. At this point it's not _if_ they'll figure out how to control Dialga, it's how much time do we have before they do," she said.

"What are we going to do?" Maylene whispered.

"We need to call a League meeting immediately," Cynthia said, and Steven nodded. "We'll call in the Professors too. We have to tell everyone to watch over any known Reliance bases in the interim," she said.

"And we'll need to inventory known legendaries," Steven added.

"We need to meet soon, and as many in-person as possible. The less chance we have of security leaks, the better. Especially after that Team Flare incident," Cynthia said. "We have to control the press. We can't let them run with this. If civilians start going after Reliance, this could get bloody fast," she said, looking thirty years older than she had at the beginning of our conversation.

"We also need to contact the International Police," Steven added, and Cynthia nodded, looking up at the camera to face Maylene.

"Maylene, you need to keep a tight grip on what's being broadcasted, at least until we make our decision. You know how violently Reliance can react to the publicity."

Maylene bobbed her head, "I'll call Crasher Wake after this and tell him to do the same, and Volkner too in case any escapees made it his way. Should we hold the meeting in Veilstone? Do I need to start preparing?"

Cynthia shook her head. "I think the League and the attention it brings with it would be bad for Veilstone."

"Sinnoh is also quite far away from the other regions. We couldn't hold the meeting for another week if we wanted it there. We should meet in a middle region," Steven put in.

"Meet in another region? But the problem is in Sinnoh…" Maylene said, glancing towards the faded light leaking through the crack in the curtains.

"Reliance has spread to most regions. I know Kanto, Hoenn, Johto all have a following," Steven said.

"Not too much in Kalos or the others," Cynthia said.

"Except…" Steven said, a flicker in his eyes, "Unova."

"Reliance was founded in Unova! You want to have a meeting there‽" Maylene asked incredulously.

"No, it makes sense," Cynthia nodded, "I guarantee you the Reliance admins already know about the breakout last night. They know we're on to them."

"A show of force," Steven murmured.

"I know it's not usually our style, but—" Cynthia put her hands in the air defensively.

"No…" Steven said slowly, putting his hand on her arm, "It makes perfect sense! While we're there meeting, we might have a time to do a little investigating, and since Unova is pretty central, no one would have to fly too far for the conference. We could have it in two or three days," he said excitedly.

Maylene's eyes lit up. "The doctors!" she exclaimed, and the champions turned to him curiously, "About the mutation," she continued animatedly. "They said they weren't equipped to deal with the level of genetic damage and the effects of such, so the higher ups were talking about transferring a few of the patients over to a research hospital in Castelia City."

"Brilliant!" Cynthia said, smiling. "Not only can we guard the patients while we're there, we'll be right on hand when the doctors have news."

Steven looked to Cenric, "And what about you? You know Reliance. How does this all sound?"

Cenric ran his hands through his dark hair. "It sounds logical?" he managed lamely. "I heard the names of a lot of cities tossed around, and Castelia might have been one of them? If Reliance is there, it'll be hard for them to act if the entire League is on top of them," he said. Cynthia hummed in agreement.

"You trust them to just sit quietly?" Steven asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cenric crossed his arms, brows furrowing. "I really don't know," he finally said. "Reliance and all its members are so unpredictable and because of that they're dangerous," he emphasized. "Most of Reliance is made of grunts that were part of the other villainous teams. They lost their houses, their families, and when their teams disbanded they lost their purpose. Reliance came down and said, "We won't betray you like they did". It's made up of people with nothing left to lose," Cenric explained. "Anyone sane would keep their head down with the entire League on their back, but I can't guarantee Reliance will."

"If Reliance did attack us while we were at our meeting," Maylene ventured, "Could we beat them?"

"Without a doubt," Cynthia said without pause. "Being able to take them out in one hit would even be ideal."

"Is that it then?" Steven asked, "Three days from now the entire Transregional Pokémon League is meeting in Castelia City?" He was met with a chorus of murmuring agreement.

Cynthia pushed herself off the couch, stretching her arms and yawning. "Alright, I'm going to start making calls to anyone I can wake up," she said, walking off screen. We focused the rest of our attention on Steven.

The silver-haired trainer shifted to the center of the couch, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his legs and head upon his hands, regarding Cenric. "You'll have to forgive me Trainer, I can't seem to recall you're name."

"Cenric," he mumbled, shrinking under the champion's steely gaze. He was intimidating, even in his beldum PJs.

"Cenric," he repeated, nodding, "I know you've probably told this to the police a hundred times, but can you talk to me about Reliance and about the base? Even the smallest detail could help us stop them," he said.

Clearing his throat, Cenric began retelling our last few days.

(***)

 **A/N:** Those champion are just super models, aren't they? Also I'm having a debate with my sister, so let me know if you think Cyan is more of a masculine or a feminine name! So now we know who the mysterious ' _him_ ' is. Do you think this changes the game? Do you think the champion's decision to meet in Castelia was wise?

 **Fun Fact** : I had no plans to give Lawrence a name. Up until Version 7 he was just referred to as Latios, and originally his human form was in his late teens/young twenties, but in the middle of writing his introduction chapter, I figured I had too many characters in that age group, so I bumped him down to around 12'ish.


	5. Castelia City

**A/N:** If you want to know how much I slashed from the beginning of the story, this chapter used to be chapter 13…

 **Chapter 5: Castelia City**

(***)

Water sloshed along the edge of the cruise liner as Hilton—yes, he haunted my life yet again-leaned over the edge and puked his lunch overboard. We left Veilstone's port a few hours ago, and the skies cleared soon after.

The sun glittered off the water and reflected spider web patterns onto the side of the boat. Wingull soared over us, letting out their characteristic cries. The salt in the air coated the inside of my nose, but at least it washed out the last of the chemical stench lingering from the Reliance base.

Hilton wretched over the railing. By the grace of Arceus, he wore his usual attire instead of a hospital gown. His hoodie almost passed for clean. I'd never seen it so white. Maybe the hospital had industrial clothes washers? Maybe we could get the doctors to introduce him to shampoo next…

The doctors insisted Hilton stay bed-bound in one of the cabins, but Hilton argued back that despite his freakish and horrific mutations, he could go one with life as usual. In the end it took Maylene's influence as a gym leader. She hadn't been able to override the doctor's orders, but did win him an hour out of bed. Fifteen minutes later he clung to the railing and began vomiting his lunch.

' _Better?'_ I called, and he looked up, wiping the leftover liquid off his face as best he could with the pulse oximeter probe strapped to his finger. He looked green, well, besides the left half of his face. That still looked like a blue, suffocating Quasimodo.

"I shouldn't have eaten breakfast," he said, looking down miserably.

' _You didn't even eat that much this morning,'_ I said.

"I just don't feel as hungry," he said scratching his face. Little flakes of scales fell off, and I jumped out of their path with a shudder. Hilton's lack of appetite could be due to all the crazy events going on in our lives, but it could also stand to reason his increased activity would make him even hungrier. I shrugged. Let the doctors figure that one out.

Cenric leaned back on the railing a distance from Hilton, letting the wind pass over him and tousle his black hair. A police officer hung within twenty feet of him now—they told us it was for his "protection". I glanced upwards at the officer lingering on the deck above. She averted her gaze as if she stood there just to enjoy the view.

"Lawrence!" cried Hilton, a grin splitting his crooked face as a thin human figure approached. When told he may have the opportunity to fight Reliance in Castelia, he decided to stick around for a while longer. As he came to linger near us, I took a step backwards, gaze darting between him and Cenric.

"Were you-?" Lawrence started to ask, eyeing Hilton's sick face and the railing, but then he shook his head, deciding it was better not to ask. He turned to Cenric, scowling. "Been missing something?" he asked with a sneer, reaching into the pocket of his grey shorts and pulling out three poké balls.

"My pokémon!" Cenric cried, snatching them from Lawrence's open palms. "The police said I could have them back?" he asked, looking back at Lawrence.

"So it seems," Lawrence gritted, eyes narrowed.

Ignoring Lawrence's blatant disdain, Cenric slipped the poké balls into his pockets. "Any news?" he asked. From what I understood, Lawrence had been sitting in on League meetings recently. Probably trying to learn as much about Reliance as he could.

Lawrence nodded, lips pressed into a thin line and eyebrows furrowing.

"What‽ What‽" Hilton insisted. "Did they find Claire? Is she safe‽" I perked up at that, even daring to inch out of the shade towards them.

Lawrence shot Hilton an incredulous side-eye. "In the rubble of compound the human police managed to find evidence that directly links Reliance with experimentation and kidnapping," he said.

' _Do they need any more evidence against Reliance? Aren't Hilton and the other experiments enough?'_ I asked in confusion.

"If the doctors want to start trying to undo the mutations this century, they need Reliance's research," Cenric explained.

' _I guess that makes sense…'_

"And you said they didn't find any… _remains_ at the compound, right?" Hilton asked, voice hitching at the end.

"Correct," Lawrence said, but his scowl deepened. "But the evidence is gone," he finished through clenched jaw.

"What‽" the three of us cried in unison.

Lawrence looked away, glaring across the open ocean. "It was locked away. Not even the League can be trusted," he mumbled to himself.

Hilton wrung his hands. "What do we do then? What does this mean?"

"You get to stay like _that_ even longer," Latios replied drily, giving Hilton's mutated flesh a meaningful once-over.

"The League can't do anything until after their meeting," Cenric said, rubbing his forehead.

"Hilton!" called a voice behind us, and the four of us turned to see Maylene jogging in our direction.

"Hey Maylene!" said Hilton, smiling as the gym leader came to an easy stop in front of us.

"The doctors want you back in the cabin. They need some more blood samples," she said pointing over her shoulder.

"Again‽" Hilton moaned. Maylene shrugged with a sympathetic smile. Hilton walked past her, head hung low. I thought about following him, but Cenric's, Maylene's even Lawrence's company was infinitely preferable to Hilton's. Besides, all Hilton had in store for him was testing.

"So," Maylene started, clapping her hands together and looking at us with a light in her eye. "Have you guys eaten yet?"

The three of us walked down the deck, open ocean to our left and cabin doors to our right. Both Maylene and Lawrence had small strides and walked at a leisurely pace that Cenric matched, so I managed to keep up on foot. A thin shadow trailed after us, as the security officer on the deck above pretended that following Cenric was a coincidence.

Maylene asked Latios if he could guess which legendaries Reliance abducted, and he listed off a few names, most of which I'd never heard before. The conversation deteriorated into talk about Hoenn in general.

"I visited Dewford Town to see Brawley. We had a fighting meet there," Maylene said. "It was beautiful. Much warmer than Sinnoh."

Lawrence nodded, "So you have not visited the mainland yet?"

Maylene shook her head, "I mean-I've been there once or twice, but never long enough to really absorb any of it. I was planning on doing that during the Poké Festival."

The ghost of a grin pulled at Lawrence's thin lips. "All the residents of Sootopolis were very excited about the festival. They already started preparing before…" his grin fell.

Before Reliance.

"You've been to a Poké Festival before?" she asked, eyes wide as she turned on him.

He smirked as he stepped past her. "Oh, quite a few of us legendaries attend Poké Festivals. Disguised, naturally."

' _What's it like?'_ I asked. I could only imagine. I'd seen pictures in magazines, and short clips on the news, but to be really there…. Latios glanced to Maylene, offering her the chance to answer. She tapped her chin.

"Well, the League started it after the whole Team Plasma incident. They wanted a way to deepen the bond between humans and pokémon, so every four years a city gets chosen to host the festival. The entire League shows up, and there are lights and fireworks and good food and exhibitions, and it lasts an entire week! Oh, and this year since it's so close to Lilycove City-aka contest central-some of the top coordinators are going to be there too." She sighed. "I hope this all blows over by then. Reliance doesn't like the Poké Festival."

' _Why not? I thought they wanted humans and pokémon to be closer and that's what the festival's about…'_ I said, scrunching my nose. None of this made sense.

Maylene shook her head, "They've sabotaged festival preparations several times, although the police haven't been able to link Reliance directly to the events. Everybody knows they did it. Reliance wants things done their way, not anyone else's. I think what really irritates them though is that Independence has had a big hand in the preparations this year. They plan on revealing their new green energy solution or something, and Reliance _hates_ that," she said.

"Now that all this has come up the police and the League are finally going after Reliance, right? The festival should be able to go on?" Cenric asked as we stepped out of the sun and into one of the ship's internal hallways.

I sighed. Wouldn't that be nice? Claire, Cenric, even Maylene if she wanted to come, wait, what was I saying? She was part of the League! Of course she'd be there. Maybe Lawrence if he was in a good mood. But we could all go and enjoy the festival together. That would be nice…Okay okay. Hilton could come too as long as he promised to stay fifty feet from Claire at all times.

Maylene pushed open the large doors, revealing the extravagant grand ballroom. The cruise ship still was trying to scrape up the accommodations for the hundred or so surprise guests that boarded this morning—us included. There was the twenty or so escapees from the first base that went north to Veilstone like us, Maylene, her gym trainers, various hospital staff, and Crasher Wake along with the escapees who went south to Pastoria. Oh, and I was pretty sure Volkner was on board somewhere as well.

Under this unexpected burden, the ship's crew had to improvise.

The kitchen staff rolled out long buffet tables for the humans and kept pokémon food in large containers on the other end. Though the food looked…unappetizing the smell alone made my stomach rumble.

"I'll be back," Lawrence mumbled, slipping into the crowd with ease. From behind he looked like any other human child despite being the oldest of all.

Maylene looked at the buffet, licking her lips. Clenching her fists, she forced herself away from the stacks of golden rolls and headed towards the collection of round dining tables. Cenric and I followed after. Swells of people and pokémon roamed the massive room, some with plates of food in their hands. I pitied the repurposed grand ballroom. Countless shoes scuffed up the once-reflective floors, and even the tables showed signs of wear. I cringed as a zubat got himself caught up in the beaded strings of the crystal chandelier.

Maylene spotted an empty table in the back corner, and with slumping shoulders, she pulled out a banquet chair and plopped down in it. Cenric pulled out two chairs, reached down and placed me in the first. Even standing, I barely came up to the table's lip.

Maylene laughed. "I've trained a ralts before, you know," she went on. "He's a gallade now," she explained. I nodded. Evolving into a gallade would be cool, but I didn't like the idea of hitting things. Attacking from a safe distance seemed more my style. Then again, with my head cracked, there was no guarantee I'd ever be able to use my psychic abilities normally. The thought crushed me. I was weak, but I always just assumed one day with Claire's guidance I'd be as strong as her other pokémon. But now…

Maylene's eyes widened, and she slapped her hand against her open mouth, mumbling something that sounded like a profanity.

"We never got you to a Pokémon Center, did we?" she asked, squeezing her eyes shut and massaging her forehead.

"Arceus, I totally forgot," Cenric mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"That'll be the first thing we do at Castelia City, alright?" Maylene promised me.

' _I got those potions this morning. I feel okay'ish,'_ I said, trying to sound unconcerned.

"You may feel okay, but we need to get someone to take a look at your head," Maylene said, trying to give me a reassuring smile that did little to quell my uneasy stomach.

What if Nurse Joy couldn't do anything? What if I was stuck like this for the rest of my life? My heart started pumping faster at the thought as my breathing accelerated. I'd never grow strong enough to evolve, never be strong enough to protect Claire! Would she even want me after this?

"Woah, Noël, calm down. Deep breaths," Maylene said, putting a hand on my back, careful to avoid my injury.

I forced myself to slow down, concentrating on the way the table cloth draped and fell. She was right, it was going to be okay. Even if Nurse Joy couldn't heal my head, Dialga could. When the League stopped Reliance and freed Claire and Dialga, I'd just ask him to fix my head. Easy peasy, right? I took another deep breath, feeling my heart grow quieter. All I had to do was sit tight and stay out of trouble. Everything would work itself out.

The rest of the day winded past in a haze of bright sun, tired smiles, and glittering ocean; Maylene left us to do gym leader'y things, so Cenric, his personal police officer, and I wandered around the ship.

After several hours of exploring the vacant themed-bars, we found ourselves wandering the promenade. Cenric veered towards the open casino, situated at the heart of the deck.

The security officer behind us grunted in disapproval.

Cenric whipped around, grinning. "Ha! I knew you couldn't stay silent the whole time!" he boasted, crossing his arms with a victorious smirk.

She rolled her eyes before planting her hands on her hips, giving him a look.

Cenric threw his hands in the air. "Hey, I'm nineteen and we're in international waters!" he said, "Check my papers," he insisted. Her frown deepened at that.

"I'm not going to play anything," he said, waving her off and stepping back towards the casino. "Besides I don't have my trainer card. Even if I did, you guys probably already froze my credit, right?"

Her only reply was a deep sigh. Grinning, I chased after Cenric. He bent low, scooping me up in his bandaged arms and putting me on his shoulder. Together, we stepped off the tiled floor and onto the lush red carpets. Every surface that wasn't carpeted was covered in brass or gold. Screens blinked vibrant colors, enticing us to a game of chance. As night drew nearer, the casino began to fill. Even now mechanical trilling could be heard over the radio and low rumble of voices.

If the visuals were overwhelming the stench was even more so. Cigarette smoke clung to every fiber of the carpet, hanging still in the empty air, parting only as we walked through and leaving a wake behind us. It filled my mouth and throat. I wrinkled my nose, covering it with my tiny hands.

' _Can we get out of here?'_ I asked, looking around for the nearest exit.

"Wait, wait!" Cenric hissed, ducking behind a slot machine. "Arceus, is that…" he mumbled, peaking around the golden trim. I clung to the nape of his t-shirt, almost tumbling off his back.

' _What? What?'_ I cried, regaining my balance and trying to see over the machine. Cenric stepped to the side, allowing us a view between two machines.

A head of blue hair hunched over a slot machine, small fists banging at the screen.

' _Is that Lawrence?'_ I gasped after trying to wipe the smoke from my eyes.

"It is!" Cenric whispered, grin stretched across the whole of his face. Lawrence yanked at every knob and crevice at the machine and I could feel his scowl from several yards away.

"He doesn't have any money on him, right?" Cenric asked, turning around to look at the police officer hanging several yards away. She shrugged.

"Hey, you! You can't be in here!" rang a loud voice over the smoke and slot machines. Cenric stiffened, but an angry man just ran past us.

Cenric slapped his hand to his mouth, strangling the laughter on his lips.

Lawrence ignored the man until he grabbed one of Lawrence's thin arms, hoisting him off the stool.

The faux-child writhed in his grip, trying to jerk away, but the man's muscular arms held fast. "Let me go, you pathetic excuse for a biped!" Lawrence snarled, kicking at the man's shins.

"Oh, no! None of that!" the man growl, twisting Lawrence's arm and pinning it behind his back. A sharp cry escaped Lawrence, surprising the legendary more than the incensed casino staff. His wide eyes narrowed to slits, lips curling back to reveal his pointed incisors.

"Where are your parents?" the man demanded, not detecting Lawrence's shift. "This is what they get for putting the kid's club right next to the casino," he grumbled, dragging Lawrence towards the entrance.

With a blurred jerk, Lawrence whipped out of the man's thick hands, turning around to face him with death written on every curve of his deceptively youthful face.

"This is about to get ugly," Cenric mumbled, stepping out from behind the slot machine and jogging towards the duo.

I clung to his shirt, trying to hide the rest of me behind Cenric's head. Trying to stop Lawrence when he was in one of his moods was suicide!

"Lawrence! Thank Arce—the Lord we found you!" Cenric called, causing both males to turn, watching us approach with varying degrees of confusion.

"What do you want, scourge of the earth?" Lawrence spat, gritting his jaw.

"You know this punk?" the man asked, gesturing to Lawrence with exasperation.

Cenric nodded, and we reached the pair. "He's with the League," Cenric explained solemnly, which seemed to curb the man's irritation. Cenric looked to Lawrence. "Maylene sent me to tell you Unova is in sight now," Cenric said, all traces of his earlier amusement gone.

' _What?'_ I asked, face twisting in confusion. _'No she di—'_ Cenric jostled his shoulder, silencing me.

Lawrence glared daggers at Cenric, looking like he was about to close the gap between us and try to strangle Cenric for the umpteenth time, but with a sharp exhale he whipped around and stormed out of the casino.

Cenric jogged after him while I clung to his shoulder for dear life. _'What? Why are you chasing him? When he finds out you were lying, he's gonna kill us!'_ I shouted.

"If he finds out I'm lying, he's gonna hunt me down anyways, might as well try and do some damage control," Cenric mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, slowing as we stepped outside. The sun sank beneath the flat horizon, bathing us in the last rays of its golden light. We could hear the soft, constant crash of the waves against the side of the boat, causing it to rock softly.

To our left, Lawrence prowled the edge of the deck, searching the horizon with a deep frown. The security officer behind us fell back, seating herself on a lounge chair and watching us. Cenric walked over to Lawrence, forcing a smile.

"What could you possibly want?" Lawrence asked, not taking his eyes off the horizon. "You've delivered your message. Scat."

Cenric wrinkled his nose at Lawrence's choice of words, but didn't comment on it. "You disappeared after lunch," he said instead, changing the subject, trying to distract the faux-child from the missing continent. "What? Did Maylene's eating habits put you off people?" Cenric asked, cracking a grin.

"Her jaw unhinged," Lawrence murmured, closing his eyes with a shudder. "She swallowed the watermelon whole."

"I suppose when you're as active as she is, you can eat like that," Cenric said thoughtfully. He leaned onto the metal railing, basking in the last warmth of the sun.

Our ship sounded its loud blow horn, vibrating the entire boat. I jumped, nearly falling off Cenric's shoulder. _'What was that for_ _‽_ ' I cried, looking around and rubbing my ear slots.

"Unova, obviously," Lawrence said, rolling his eyes and pointing a thin arm across the water. I squinted my eyes, scanning the horizon. Oh, there! A sliver of dark orange against the amber sky.

"Oh, yes! Unova!" Cenric added, trying to keep the grin off his face. "Of course!"

' _Oh, look!'_ I called, pointing across the horizon. Another ship plowed a course parallel to ours, both headed for the slice of land in the distance. The three of us stayed against the railing, watching Unova grow in size. More and more ships appeared around us, seeming to manifest out of the dusk alone, painted crimson by the dying sun. They, along with us, were headed for a scattering of lights on the horizon. It looked like stars had fallen from the heavens and landed on Earth.

"What's that?" I gasped.

Cenric grinned, observing the scene with the same reverence as me. "That, Noël, is Castelia City."

I looked back at the stars in confusion, but as the ship neared tall shapes formed out of the amorphous darkness. Other humans and pokémon joined us at the rail, watching the marvel near.

Tiny stars speckled the navy blue. The city rested in violets, save for the very tips of the tallest buildings where the sun struck them vermillion. As we got closer, I realized that the earth-bound stars weren't stars at all, they were the city lights! Though the strongest were white and gold, some flashed, blinked, and spun in shades of turquoise, pink, red, green, and every other color conceivable. It felt like a dream. This couldn't possible exist. I'd always considered Jubilife City massive, but Castelia's magnitude and grandeur dwarfed it.

Our ship blew its horn again as we neared the piers. A cruise liner, even bigger than ours, was anchored near the dock, unloading thousands of passengers onto the cobblestone pier. I watched tiny humans run along the roads as the streetlamps flickered on, scurrying off to who knows where.

Our boat pulled into the pier, docking with a jerk that sent everyone falling forward a few steps. I picked myself up off the floor, and clung to Cenric's leg.

' _What will we do now?'_ I asked, looking at the expansive city.

"I plan on doing some reconnaissance using my…abilities," Latios said, watching the people on the pier below preparing for us to disembark.

"How long are you going to be gone? Does the League know?" Cenric asked, questions pouring out of his mouth, eyebrows knitted together in thought…or was it concern? Why would he be concerned about Lawrence? He'd tried to kill Cenric at least twice, or was it three times now? Though I wasn't sure how earnestly Lawrence wanted to kill Cenric. If Latios really wanted him dead, wouldn't he be already? Maybe it was more of a passive interest. Like a hobby.

"And I'll probably be stuck at the police station again," Cenric groaned, resting his head in his hands.

' _Wait, what am I going to do?'_ I asked, panic bubbling up from my stomach and fluttering in my throat.

"Go with the green-haired one," Lawrence said dismissively, waving me off.

' _But Hilton is…'_ I trailed off, biting my lip.

"Hilton what?" Cenric asked, looking down at me. "You really don't like him, do you?" he asked, wearing a complicated expression.

' _Well, you know,'_ I said throwing my hands into the air, _'He's just so…'_ What were the words? Delusional? Irresponsible? Out of touch?

"Don't you think it might be a good idea to let whatever he did in the past go? I mean in light of the circumstances?" Cenric asked. "He's pretty harmless right now."

Lawrence laughed at that. "Sure. Let us go with "harmless", shall we? Sounds better than disabled, doesn't it?"

"Yes, thank you Lawrence for your input," Cenric mumbled, shooting the legendary a glare.

I shook my head violently, _'You haven't seen him when Claire is around!'_ I insisted, _'Sure, he acts normal'ish right now, but when Claire's around it's like he doesn't hear a word anyone says!'_

"The green one does act differently when you mention her name," Latios conceded. I was beginning to wonder if Lawrence even knew Hilton's name.

' _You haven't seen them together! He basically threw her into the ocean the day before we got kidnapped! He pushed her off Mount Coronet and she was in the hospital for days! And he gave me this head injury, and I don't know if it'll ever go away! I might be like this forever!'_ I felt tears welling, _'A-and if I'm not strong, h-how am I supposed to save Claire? I was so sure b-but now a-and I-I—'_

"You are not alone," a voice murmured, and I looked up at Cenric, only to find him staring at Lawrence in surprise. I examined the boy staring out at Castelia. The fading golden light hit the back of his head, catching the curly stray hairs and lighting the outside of his head like a halo.

I sniffled, rubbing my nose slots. "Right now, but I'm just a freeloader! I only hold people back! That's why you're both leaving me behind!" I sobbed.

"You cannot follow me because it would impede my reconnaissance," Lawrence said.

"You might be able to come with me," Cenric said with a shrug. "I'm sure if Maylene tells the police it's okay they'll let you stick around me. If not, Hilton really isn't that bad of an alternative," the young man reasoned.

"But all Hilton is going to be doing is sitting in the hospital," I said. I doubted those doctors would let him out of their sights a second time.

Lawrence shrugged, straitening himself. ' _Perhaps. Perhaps not.'_

' _What does that even mean_ _‽_ _'_ I asked, but Lawrence didn't answer, instead looking over his shoulder at the multitude of trainers shuffling behind us towards the elevators and then the exit. I couldn't blame them, after we'd been on the ship for, what, eleven, twelve hours _? 'But what if I can't go with Cenric?'_ I whined.

Lawrence's thin lip curled in annoyance. "Then be contented with the green one's company or make new friends," he said, pushing himself away from the railing in a single sharp motion.

I turned to Cenric, with wide, pleading eyes. He knew what to do most of the time, right?

The black-haired teen just shrugged, crouching down to look me in the eye. "Hey, don't panic yet. You still might be able to come with me, okay?"

' _Alright,'_ I mumbled, twisting my hands as Cenric stood back up. I surveyed the area for Latios, but he vanished into the ever-increasing stream of people without a trace. The police officer appeared behind us, placing a hand on Cenric's upper arm.

"I'm not going to run off, you know," Cenric said to her, giving me a look before placing me back on his shoulders.

"Stay close to me," she mumbled under her breath, pulling us towards the crowd of people. Warm bodies propelled us forward, pushing towards with elevators with a dull roar. The woman's grasp on Cenric's arm tightened as the hoard began to separate us; she yanked Cenric back, ignoring the incensed looks of the surrounding humans. People jammed themselves into every ornamental alcove in the elevator lobby, swimming towards any of the six shining double doors while the captain barked directions over the PA that no one could hear.

Putting her head down and her elbow up, the police officer plowed through the mass of bodies, dragging us behind. "Police! Make room!" she shouted over the clamor, forcing her way into a packed elevator.

The humans groaned, shooting each other annoyed glances as our arrival pressed them into the wall. With a shudder, the elevator door slid closed, nearly removing Cenric's nose in the process. The body heat in the elevator alone could heat a cup of coffee with ease. It smelled like alcohol and suntan lotion.

With a groan the elevator slid downwards, sending my stomach to my throat. After an agonizingly long pause, the doors slid open and we fell out. Cenric barely had time to regain his footing before the police officer grabbed his arm again, lugging us through the full hallways. Up ahead I could see a hoard of people clotting the passage while frantic staff tried to form some semblance of a line.

"This way," she said, jerking us down a narrow, vacant hallway in the opposite direction.

"Don't we need to get off the ship?" Cenric asked as the noise from behind began to fade. He took a confused glance behind his shoulder.

She just grunted, towing us down the remainder of the hallway to a bend. We rounded the corner and salty air accosted us. Twenty feet away sat an open door, blocked by a sparse gathering of humans. Doctors helped load a patient from a gurney and onto a wheelchair while staff, police officers, nurses, and other patients hovered around. The police officer pulled us to the side several yards from the patients and hospital staff.

I scanned the crowd, wondering if Lawrence came this way.

"Hey! Cenric! Claire's Ralts!" a raspy voice called. My stomach churned and I fought the urge to wretch. I stared holes into the dated carpet, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Hilton! How are you feeling?" Cenric asked with a grin, stepping forward to meet the boy.

Hilton pushed past the hospital staff to meet us while an irritated nurse trailed behind. He stopped several feet from us, looking just as ghastly as I remembered, face still contorted into a ghoulish sneer. At least he wasn't still seasick.

"Look at this," Hilton said seriously, holding up his hands-the left of which was indigo. Multicolor Hello Kitty Band-Aids encircled each of his sausage fingers. He wiggled them just to emphasize his point.

"Yikes," Cenric said, stuffing his own hands beneath his armpits.

"I'm pretty sure most of my blood isn't in my body anymore," Hilton said before sneaking a backwards conspiring glance at the nurse. "And you don't even want to know how many times they've made me pee in the cup," he whispered. "What do you think they even do with it?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Cenric admitted. Before Hilton could continue questioning medical practices, a clear voice broke through the hall.

"Cenric, Hilton, Noël!" Maylene called, jogging up to us with a ragged expression hanging from her face, fuchsia hair frazzled. "Have you guys seen Lawrence? We've looked everywhere for him," she said, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"He was with us on the lido deck until the announcements over the PA started, but then he disappeared. Said something about doing recon in Castelia?" Cenric said.

Maylene cursed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Arceus," she mumbled. "We need him for the League meeting," she said with a sighed, running her hands over her face. "Did he say where he was going or when he'd be back?" she asked.

Cenric just shook his head. "Just something about being stealthy."

"Well, that explains why we couldn't find him," she groaned, leaning back against the wall. "I guess I have to send some people to go look for him," she mumbled, fiddling with the C-Gear on her wrist.

"You think they'll be able to find him?" Cenric asked, raising an eyebrow.

Maylene gave a tired laugh at that. "Not really, but it'll make me feel better," she said. "Hopefully he'll come back in time for the League meeting. We were counting on his input."

"What about us?" Hilton asked, gesturing to Cenric and me with a lazy twist of his wrist.

Maylene frowned, rubbing her chin and looking over us with tired eyes. "Well," she started slowly. "Hilton, you're going to the research hospital," she said, and he opened his mouth to whine, but she cut back in, "and that's _non-negotiable_ ," she added with a firm edge to her voice. "Cenric is going to the police station for his own protection, and—Oh! Don't let me forget about the pokémon center, but after that Noël can go wherever he wants," she finished.

Her words made me queasy. I didn't _want_ to choose. I didn't _want_ to be responsible for this. Why couldn't someone just _tell_ me what to do like they always had? Everything was so much easier then. Sweat prickled my brow, and I tried to steady myself on Cenric's shoulder. Hilton mumbled something, but I occupied myself with pushing the anxiety out. I just shouldn't think about it, right? If I just ignore it, it'll go away.

Maylene sighed, cracking her neck. "Oh, I don't know, after everyone else is settled, I'll probably go look for the gym leaders that are already here," she said, absently running a hand over the poké balls strapped to her belt.

"Maylene, we're ready!" called a woman from outside on the dock. During the course of our conversation, most of the patients and doctors vanished, leaving the four of us, Cenric's lingering police officer, and a few straggling hospital staff.

"I guess you guys are riding with me then," she said with a grin before looking back at the open doorway. The policewoman pushed herself off from her place on the wall several yards back, watching Cenric warily like she expected him to make a run for it.

Cenric just rolled his eyes at her before tailing after Maylene. The remaining hospital staff swooped in on Hilton behind us, carefully escorting him towards the door like he was made of porcelain.

Behind Maylene, Cenric stepped out of the ship's door and onto the long ramp. He paused for a moment, surveying the glittering city before us. I breathed in the city air. It was warm, but fresh, and there was something sweet about it, something different then Sinnoh. I sighed, taking in the view. So this was Unova? I realized this was the first time I'd been outside Sinnoh. I always thought I'd end up visiting other regions, but I always thought Claire would be with me. A bitter taste filled my mouth as I remembered the reason we were here.

We followed Maylene down the ramp, dark waves crashing beneath us on the stone pier, towards the last remaining white van. Upon arriving, Maylene and Cenric stepped aside, allowing to hospital staff to load Hilton first.

Orange wisps of clouds floated above us, and banners hanging from street lamps billowed in the wind. You could hear the surf roaring against the pier supports below, and smell the salt mixing with the smell of fried food from carts up the road. A clown juggled in the distance, attracting a circle of tourists.

Once Hilton and the hospital staff packed themselves into the back of the van, Cenric followed after. Maylene called shotgun next to the driver while the policewoman placed herself between Cenric and the door, slamming it shut for us. Cenric pulled me off of his shoulder, resting me in his lap.

With a sigh, I leaned back against his stomach. My own body weighed me down. My limbs weighed fifty pounds apiece.

Why was I so tired?

The van roared to life, starting its way down the pier. I hadn't done much today besides walk around the cruise ship for a time. I'd slept at least ten hours last night, but why was I still so tired?

I was sick of this. I didn't want to travel around anymore. I hated the uncertainty of it all. I just wanted to wake up in the Sunyshore Pokémon Center. Claire would yawn and grin, trying to smooth her mess of brown hair. She'd say, "Ready for another day of training, Noël?" I missed it. I missed her.

The van drove past the length of the cruise ship. I watched the hordes of people unloading from the main exits, dragging their luggage behind them. After waiting for a light, the van turned onto a wide street, passing the throngs of people that crowded the sidewalks. Food carts lined the road selling hotdogs, popcorn, and wraps of all kinds. I glanced back at Hilton, but to my surprise he was staring out the other window at the dark ocean. Maybe the doctors fed dinner back on the ship?

"Stop the car!" Hilton screamed throwing himself forward into our row of seats.

Cenric yelped, jumping forward against his seatbelt and sending me tumbling to the floor. The van swerved and everyone shouted at once. Hands from the back row grabbed Hilton by his shirt, trying to haul the heavy boy backwards while he clawed at the door.

"Arceus, Hilton!" Cenric shouted as the policewoman dragged Hilton back from the car door. The van came to a stomp, lurching forward. I banged into the foot of the driver's seat, stars flashing across my eyes. By the time my vision cleared, the hospital staff grabbed Hilton and pulled him back into the last row, combing every inch of him for injuries.

The driver shouted either prayers or complaints at the roof of her car, and the policewoman lectured Cenric about Arceus knows what.

A shrill whistle cut through the bedlam, silencing us. All eyes turned to the petite woman in the front passenger seat. Maylene unbuckled her seat belt, shifting to face the other passengers.

"Is everyone alright," she asked, locking eyes with the hospital staff in the back. They met her inquiry with groans and mumbles. Cenric looked around, eyebrows knitting in concern.

' _I'm down here,'_ I managed, giving a weak little wave.

"Noël, I'm sorry," Cenric mumbled, trying to lean forward but his seatbelt locked. With some effort, he managed to scoop me off the floor. I tried to settle back in his lap, but my head still spun and the sparks bit at the corners of my vision. Muted car honks shouted at us from outside, and I guessed we were blocking the road now.

"Well, good thing we're headed to the hospital anyways," Maylene mumbled, surveying us. Her eyes flicked to the cause. "Hilton, what the hell was that about‽" she spat, brows pressed down and together. "We almost hit someone!" she said, clenching her armrest.

We all turned to Hilton. The mutated human squirmed against the restraining arms of the hospital staff, but they kept him pinned to the seat. "You've got to let me out! We've got to go back!" he shouted.

"If you left something on the cruise ship they'll just send it to the hospital," Maylene said, collapsing back into her seat.

"No! I saw Claire! Claire Bear was back there! Let me go!" he cried, wiggling more furiously. "We've got to save her!"

My heart froze.

"Wait, what?" Maylene asked, confusion replacing her anger as she looked to Cenric for answers.

"The friend that was kidnapped. Noël's trainer. The girl who Dialga partnered up with," Cenric supplied, glancing down to me. I just nodded numbly. He couldn't be right….right?

"I know who she is," Maylene said, massaging her temple, "But it's impossible for her to be here in Castelia." She glanced around Cenric's head to talk to the hospital staff. "Is this, like, a symptom of the whole…" she broke off, awkwardly gesturing to the left side of her face. "Or did you guys put him on some crazy pain meds or…?"

"I'm not crazy! I really did see here and she was heading in the opposite direction! We have to go back," Hilton insisted, trying to jerk out of the nurses' grips now.

Maylene leaned back, resting her back on the dash and regarding the lot of us with tired eyes. She looked to Cenric, "Is it possible?" she mumbled, voice rough.

Cenric sighed. "You're asking me if it's possible that Reliance shipped Claire from Sinnoh to Unova—specifically Castelia City—and that she escaped in the past five days, but decided never to contact anyone? Even though some of her pokémon are still missing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I see your point," Maylene said.

"I could recognize my Clairey Warey anywhere!" Hilton insisted. "We've got to turn around! She was headed towards the pier. Maybe she was looking for me!" he cried.

' _You still think she's blonde!'_ I snapped at him. Arceus, I felt like an idiot. How could I have allowed him to get my hopes up even for a second?

"Well, what does she look like?" the policewoman asked in a low but clear voice. "We can tell the Castelia Police Department to keep an eye out for her," she said.

Before Hilton could go on his "hair as bright as gold, skin as white a snow, and lips as red as a rose" spiel, I interjected. _'Choppy brown hair. Brown eyes. Short. Little tan.'_ I listed. _'Wears t-shirts and baggy shorts. She's…eighteen I think?'_ I said, trying to remember. My mind spun, and my stomach churned with nausea and anxiety, both from being flung against the driver's seat and having hope returned and jerked away from me all in three minutes. I didn't even care about projecting my thoughts into this stranger's head anymore. Everything hurt and I just wanted to see my trainer again.

Hilton mumbled something, and I twisted around to glare at him.

' _What was that?'_ I asked, eyes narrowed.

"She's still seventeen," Hilton correctly quietly. "Her birthdays almost a year apart from mine," he said.

"You do realize there's about nine million people living in Castelia City, right? I'm sure there's more than one brown-haired, brown-eyed seventeen year old running around tonight," the policewoman said.

"But!" Cenric pushed into the conversation, earning a glare from the policewoman. He ignored her, reaching back and putting a reassuring hand on Hilton's knee. "If she is in the city, I'm sure the police will find her, that is, if you she doesn't find you first," he said, trying to smile.

"You think so?" Hilton asked, settling down.

"Oh yeah, for sure," Cenric said, nodding sagely. While Cenric's words seemed to pacify Hilton, they did nothing for my insides. I knew it wasn't logical, but Arceus I wanted to believe it so badly. Did that make me as bad as Hilton? Wasn't I just doing the same thing he always did? Twisting reality into whatever he wanted it to be and ignoring the parts he didn't like?

The van hummed back to life and as the city lights flashed by like shooting stars, I couldn't help but think about Hilton. Is this how it started for him? Little lies that were almost harmless? My blood ran cold, and realized I wasn't sure what I was more afraid of: loosing Claire or turning into Hilton.

(***)

 **A/N:** college more like*a thousand dying whales scream in the distance* lol am i right?

Thoughts? Who's your fave and least fave character atm? Where do you think Lawrence has run off to? And do you side more with Cenric or Noël on the "just how terrible is Hilton" debate?

 **Fun Fact** : Version 5's first chapter started with Noël standing trial before this weird Staraptor cult.


	6. Monsters Below

**A/N:** I'm chuckling because back in my seventh draft this used to be chapter fifteen.

 **Chapter 6: Monsters Below**

 **(***)**

We drove the rest of the way in a silence only broken when the van pulled next to a multi-story hospital that towered above us. Cenric, the police officer, and I slid out. Cenric placed me on the concrete sidewalk before turning to help the police officer fold the seats back allowing the hospital staff could help Hilton out. Maylene slipped around the front of the car and spotted me on the sidewalk.

"Come on, Noël, let's go tell them we're here," she said, scooping me up in her arms and jogging towards the sliding doors. I was too tired to protest. The doors parted, revealing a lobby covered in creams and neutral tones.

Maylene padded up to the receptionist, her shocking magenta hair caught his attention before she even opened her mouth. The humans started conversing in worried tones, but I was too distracted by our surroundings to care. Though the room itself was as bland as an off-brand cereal box, the humans rushing through it caught my attention. Some were nurses with frazzled hair and tired eyes. I saw a flash of patient who was neon pink from head to toe.

Other worried humans paced the lobby, making hushed phone calls, and I definitely overheard Reliance mentioned more than once. Another nurse appeared with an empty wheelchair just as the doors behind us slid open again. Maylene glanced around to watch Hilton being helped inside. He swatted their hands away and limped into the wheelchair before they could do anything about it. A shout from outside stole our attention again.

"They're gonna need help unloading that," Maylene mumbled, twisting around. She paused for a moment to drop me on Hilton's lap. "Hilton, hold Noël for a sec while I help with get the rest of their equipment," she said, and before I could protest she dashed out of the building.

"Hello, Claire's ralts," Hilton murmured, yawning. I rolled my eyes, praying Maylene would finish unloading the rest of the equipment soon.

I yawned myself, stretching out on Hilton's lap. Even if his extra layer of fat was unhealthy, it sure made for a comfier sofa. Cenric's stomach and arms were always so hard. I yawned again, resting my head against Hilton's tummy. My eyes felt dry and my lids heavy. I blinked, trying to keep them open. Bodies passed around us, never touching. Lights played in the outside darkness, turning and twisting, making shapes in the darkness. The floor gave out from under me, and I jolted upright.

With a yelp, I realized I wasn't on Hilton's lap anymore or in the hospital lobby. Beige walls and mass-produced paintings greeted me. I scrambled upright, almost falling out of the armchair I'd been placed in. Mid-morning light filtered in through the blinds, partially obscuring the unfamiliar cityscape before me. A TV mounted on the opposite wall played silently, black subtitle bars flashing across the bottom. The same footage I saw in the other hospital of destroyed base looped, occasionally skipping to shots of incensed humans in black suits. The hospital bed in the center of the room sat vacant. Then who—?

' _Oh no,'_ I groaned, collapsing back into the arm chair and dragging my hands down my face. I fell asleep. But Maylene wouldn't have just left me at the hospital with—

The door clicked open, and a nurse wheeled Hilton inside.

I threw my hands into the air in surrender. Obviously there was no point in trying anymore.

"Claire's ralts, you're awake!" Hilton cried, a grin breaking his malformed face.

' _My name's Noël,'_ I grumbled, watching the nurse wheel him to the bed out of the corner of my eye.

They'd changed him into a sterile hospital gown and hooked even more tubes, wires, and monitors to him. The good half of his face looked even paler than usual, and by the purple circles beneath his eyes, I doubted he managed much sleep last night.

' _How long have I been asleep?'_ I asked, stretching my cramped limbs while the nurse strapped even more equipment to Hilton.

He laughed at that; an abrasive sound with the edge of a rasp. "You've been dead to the world since you fell asleep in my lap last night. You're such a cute sleeper," he said with a grin.

I glared at him before glancing at the clock. 10:34 am. I didn't know how much longer I could put up with Hilton. Two minutes and he was already rubbing me the wrong way. But I couldn't just leave the hospital, right? Maybe Maylene or Cenric would visit and I could escape with then?

To my right Hilton continued to prattle on to the nurse. At this point I'd even settle for Lawrence.

The nurse finally managed to escape from Hilton's web of conversation and grabbed his clipboard before retreating into the hall. He closed the door, leaving Hilton and I alone.

Hilton reclined back as best he could against the wires and tubes crisscrossing his bed.

"Did anyone come to visit while I was out?" he asked with bright eyes.

' _I just woke up,'_ I mumbled, massaging my sore joints. Maylene still needed to make good on her promise to take me to a Pokémon Center.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "I told all the nurses to let Claire up when she gets here," he finished.

' _You really think you saw her?'_ I found myself asking.

"I'm sure!" Hilton insisted, eyes going wide with a hint of mania. "Don't you believe me?" he asked with a frown, eyebrows pressed together in slight confusion.

' _You don't have the best track record when it comes to these things,'_ I said, rubbing my eyes.

"I don't know what you mean."

' _Of course you don't. That's the problem,'_ I grumbled, looking away from him and at the sprawling cityscape behind me.

"Well, why couldn't it be Claire?" Hilton insisted, forcing my attention back to him.

' _All the reasons Cenric said in the van. Reliance would've had to ship her to Castelia and she'd had to escape. And like he said, even if she did, why wouldn't she call anyone?'_ I finished, but the rolling feeling in my stomach returned.

"Maybe she couldn't! Maybe they caught her before she did and she's still trapped here," Hilton gasped. "We've got to go look for her!" he insisted, swinging his thick legs over the side of the hospital bed and pulling at the array of wires in the process. A cord popped off the machine at the tension, causing the monitor to flat line and a mechanical alarm to sound.

Within moments the room filled with hospital personal, and I only caught flashes of Hilton through the swarm of bodies. Like a swarm of ants they pulled him away for more testing, leaving the room empty and silent save for the faint tick of the clock.

I traced the dated pattern in the armchair. Hilton saw what he wanted to see in that crowd, but…What if he was right this time?

No, he wasn't!

Hilton was never right… _but if he was…_

Minutes ticked by as I wrestled with myself. Maybe he lied to himself and the rest of us, but it was a nice lie…

My mind wandered to thoughts of Claire and home. Shadows shifted across the room and hospital staff filtered in and out, never bringing Hilton back. I pounded on the armchair. I couldn't stand this. This empty waiting! Reliance could be experimenting on Claire while we waited around doing nothing! And what if she did escape, but they captured her again? I needed to do something, anything, but what could I do? I was too weak.

Maybe… I needed Hilton's lie? It wouldn't put us in harm's way, but at least I could feel like I was doing something useful.

A soft knock tapped at the door. I looked up with interest, hoping for Cenric or Maylene, but a blonde woman poked her head inside. Her face twisted in confusion and she looked down at a slip of paper in her hand before leaning back to check the room number. With a frown, she stepped inside, turned on her Holo Caster, and started pecking away at the projected keypad.

Less than a minute after she arrived, a wide-eyed, sweaty Hilton stumbled in, looking from me to then to the woman. The woman's head bobbed up, and she jumped in surprise.

"Who are you?" the humans asked in unison.

"What are you doing in my room?" Hilton asked, eyeing the middle-aged woman with suspicion.

"I'm afraid I've got the wrong room number," she said with an uncomfortable laugh.

Hilton squinted at her. "Haven't I seen you before?" he asked, tilting his head.

I looked at the woman again. She did look vaguely familiar, but I still had a hard time telling humans apart. Was she from Sinnoh? She wasn't a League member… I wracked my brain, trying to put a name to the face. She had smooth skin, faintly marked by acnes scars from a time passed, and wrinkles near the edges of her warm blue eyes. I'd guess early fifties? Blonde hair fell across her face, organized into a loose side-ponytail held together by a daisy clip. Her lips were thin, but when they parted in a smile her whole face got brighter. Her sheer green blouse draped over her shoulder, the loose sleeves swaying at the slightest movement, making her look more fairy than human. The ensemble ended with khaki capri's and a pair of green sandals that matched her top. Even that seemed familiar. Where had I seen those colors? Pale green and khakis…

The memory struck me like a slap to the face.

' _Hilton!'_ I hissed, and he jumped at my sudden telepathic intrusion. ' _That's the lady from TV! She's the CEO of Independence,'_ I said, trying not to stare.

"Really?" he asked, wide-eyed and turned towards her.

"I'm sorry, did you ask me something?" she asked, smiling apologetically.

"Oh, no! Sorry," Hilton said, "Claire's ralts just thought he recognized you," he said.

Her smile faltered, and she shifted her gaze to me, "Thought? You aren't sure?" she asked.

"Oh, we know you're in charge of Independence. I'm sorry we didn't recognize you right away. We haven't watched much TV lately," Hilton explained.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as rude. I should have introduced myself. I'm Christine Allen, but you can just call me Christine," she said, offering a hand.

"Hilton," the boy said, taking her hand in his flakey, sweating one. She shuddered at the contact, and upon release she wiped her hand on her skirt as discretely as possible.

"Sorry my hand's all gross, I ran back," he admitted.

"Run back?" she asked, rising a thin eyebrow.

"They keep poking me with needles and swabbing me," Hilton whined, lipped curling in disgust. "So I snuck away," he finished. "Claire's ralts and I were about to go…uhhh…run errands," he flubbed.

Well, at least he was intelligent enough not to tell a perfect stranger that we planned on scouring an unfamiliar city for a girl who may just be a delusion of his deranged mind.

"How old are you?" she asked, with a focused look.

"Sixteen, why?" Hilton asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, the hospital can't make you stay. In Unova, you aren't a minor anymore, so you could _try_ to sign out against medical advice, but I wouldn't recommend it," she stressed. "Especially in your state. Just listen to the doctors for now; they really do know what's best for you," she said with a sympathetic smile that wrinkled the corners of her eyes.

Before Hilton could respond, her Holo Caster began to ring. "Oh! It's my niece! I've been expecting this call. It was nice meeting you!" she said, waving to us and stepping back out the door, blouse fluttering behind her. The door closed with a quiet click.

' _She seemed nice,'_ I muttered, glancing back out the window. Thick hands wrapped around my torso, and I started in surprise.

' _Hilton, put me down!'_ I screeched, writhing in his slippery, sweating hands. I fought back the urge to wretch. _'What do you think you're doing_ _‽_ _'_

"You heard her," he whispered. "We can leave whenever we want to go find Claire," he said hobbling back towards the door.

' _That's not what she said. You're insane!'_ I cried as he cracked the door and peaked down the hall. I mean, sure, I was okay with looking for Claire, but sneaking out of the hospital wasn't exactly what I had in mind!

Hilton took a deep breath, summoning a face that looked anything but innocent, and stepped out into the hall. He wove through the matrix of halls, avoiding eye contact with any of the staff as they passed. All the while, I pleaded with him telepathically to turn back. But as per usual, reason and logic couldn't penetrate Hilton's thick skull.

Ten minutes later, Hilton shut the back door behind him, stepping out into the alley barefoot, with his hospital gown billowing in the dank wind. He whooped in triumph, almost dropping me in the process.

"See, I told you that was the right door!" he said, shooting me a cocky, lopsided grin that exposed too many of his warped teeth.

' _We're going to get into soooo much trouble when they find us,'_ I moaned, going limp in his arms _. 'As soon as people see you in that,'_ I said, gesturing to his hospital gown. _'They're going to send us right back.'_

Hilton frowned. "You're right…I didn't think we'd make it this far," he mumbled, pursing his lips as best he could with his deformed features. "We should get disguises!" he cried, eyes brightening.

' _With what money, Hilton?'_ I asked _. 'With the wallet you're hiding beneath your hospital gown?_ _Maybe we should just go put those trash bins on our heads instead,'_ I said, gesturing loosely to the metal cans. This whole situation was ludicrous!

"That's a great idea!" Hilton said, stumbling for the dumpster with outstretched hands.

' _Hilton….you know I was joking…right? Right_ _‽_ _'_ I asked as he shifted me to one arm so he could pick through the garbage _. 'You can't wear trash! Someone's gonna call the police on us! They'll throw us in a cell with Cenric!'_ I cried, pulling on his hospital gown to try and gain his attention with little success.

"Oh, stop worrying," Hilton said without a glance in my direction, instead stepping forward to dig through the bottom of the bin.

' _Hilton, this is_ _ **hospital**_ _trash! There's probably, like, dirty needles in there or something!'_ I insisted, yanking at the hospital gown even harder.

"Stop—hey, look what I found!" Hilton crooned, jerking a mass of black out of the bin and sending trash whizzing past us.

Before I could comprehend what has happening, he dropped me on top of a closed trashcan so he could devote both hands to his treasure. He shifted his hands on the black wad, letting part of it swing forward to reveal a ragged trench coat.

The sheer foul stench of it assaulted my nose, stinging my eyes with it's vile power. Even Hilton's nose wrinkled at the stench.

"I-it's not so bad," he managed, holding back a coughing fit.

' _Hilton, there's a reason it was in the trash! It's garbage! You can't seriously want to put that thing on?'_ I asked, inching backwards on the lid until my back pressed against the rough brick wall behind us.

"You said I couldn't wear my hospital gown or the police would come," Hilton reminded me, never taking his eyes off the tattered scrap of fabric held together by about six stitches.

' _Look, Hilton! Even the flies won't go near it!'_ I said, plugging my nose slots _. 'If you put that coat on people are going to call the police anyways. It's a public safety hazard!'_ I said as my eyes began to water from the stench.

Hilton paused for a second, biting his twisted lower lip and exposing a flash of crooked maroon teeth.

' _Besides, I'm pretty sure that big stain at the bottom is vomit,'_ I added. Anything for him to just put that _thing_ back where it came from.

Hilton frowned and held the limp coat in front of him. His eyes roamed over the fabric, lingering on it's imperfections. He lowered his hands an inch, and my stomach leapt in triumph, but then his eyes glassed over. An annoying grin tugged at his warped mouth.

"I've got to do it," he said, expression going stern as he shoved a thick arm into the sleeve. I heard stitches pop.

' _Hilton, take that off! There's a reason not even the homeless people wanted it!'_ I cried, watching him yank on the other sleeve in horror.

"For Claire!" he roared, buttoning the only button remaining on the rag.

' _Hilton, you look like you got run over by an eighteen-wheeler! You can't go out in public like that!'_ I shouted directly into his head.

"Don't be a worrywart, Claire's Ralts. I look like a native now," Hilton said, strutting about and admiring his treasure.

' _It smells like death!'_

"Oh, you just like to complain," he said, waving me off. He did a little spin, releasing a new wave on noxious fumes into the air, sending me into a gagging fit. Before I could continue my tirade, sweaty hands wrapped around my middle, placing me on top of the rancid coat on Hilton's shoulders. The fumes made me lightheaded, and by the time I regained my balance Hilton straightened his hobo coat and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

Gasps and nervous looks met our emergence from the alley. A group of startled tourists gave us a wide berth. The ever-present crowds parted before us, first sent reeling by the smell then by Hilton's malformed features. A perfect 2-hit KO. Hushed whispered and snide comments hounded us as the skyscrapers passed one by one. I watched Hilton expression remain docile, but I couldn't tell if he was ignoring them, or just oblivious to the stir he caused.

"Young man!" and elderly voice called, voice breaking through the hushed commentary. I tensed. They'd found us so soon? I didn't want to go to jail!

Hilton looked up, spotting the voice's owner several yards from us. The old man approached us, arms full of flyers. I released my held breath.

"Excuse me young sir, are you from Hoenn?" asked the aged gentleman, coming to a stop before us.

"Uh, no?" Hilton managed, face twisting at the question.

"Sorry," he said, and gestured to me. "I just thought with your ralts…"

"Oh, he belongs to my girlfriend," Hilton clarified, letting a goofy grin spread across his face at the thought of Claire. I glared at him.

"Well isn't that sweet. I only asked because my niece owned a ralts but she evolved several months ago," he said, smiling over Hilton's other shoulder.

"That's nice," Hilton said.

"She'll be competing tonight, my niece I mean, in the contest," the old man said, thrusting a flyer at us.

"A pokémon contest?" Hilton asked, eyes drifting over the vibrant print. I had to admit, I was interested too. Claire focused on training so much that we never got around to seeing a pokémon contest in Hearthome City.

"After that Team Plasma mess, Castelia City decided to build a contest hall to showcase the beauty of Pokémon so people will appreciate them more. They finished construction back in June," the old man said with the same tone of a proud father. "Tomorrow is our first official Hoenn-style contest, and if it draws in a big enough crowd, who knows? You might see contest halls popping up all over Unova," he said. "Oh, and some of the League members visiting for the conference are going to be in attendance," he added as if it was extra incentive.

"Thanks, but uh…we've got…important stuff to do. I don't think we can go," Hilton said trying to hand the flyer back to the man.

"You keep it," he said, placing his hands on Hilton's.

"I'll-I'll try, but no promises," Hilton said taking a step back.

"That's all I ask," the man said before turning to accost another group of tourists.

"Too bad," Hilton mumbled. "Seeing a contest would be kinda cool."

I nodded in agreement, but he couldn't risk being seen and taken back to the hospital. We walked in silence, absorbing the grandeur of the skyscrapers that lined the streets.

Hilton started to fidget more as we neared the Pokémon Center, clasping and unclasping his hands, shoving them in his coat pocket and taking them out again.

"There!" Hilton shouted, head snapping in the direction of a crowd by the pier.

' _Wha-!'_ I began, but Hilton bolted across the street, dodging cars. The symphony of furious car horns drowned out my bloodcurdling screech.

In a stride Hilton was on the sidewalk, but instead of pausing, he only ran faster, weaving in and out of the crowded street with a jagged, uneven gait from his mutated leg. Sweat glistened on his forehead, and all I could do was hang onto the rancid coat.

"Claire!" he bellowed as loud as his warped lungs would allow. The rattled with the force. My heart clenched while my stomach dropped. Had he seen her? Could I dare to let myself believe this was real?

Hilton barreled through a crowd, almost taking out the street performer on his way. He broke out the other side, whipping around and scanning the crowds for the one person we both wanted to see more than anything. Before I could get a word in, he ran to the right and towards the edge of the pier.

' _Hilton, you're insane! Hilton, the edge!'_ I shouted into his mind. Moments before the drop off to a cold, black sea, Hilton came to a screeching stop, mere inches from the edge of the pier.

' _Are you trying to kill us! Did the fumes go to your brain_ _‽_ _'_ I yelled, trying to still my trembling hands.

"I saw her," he mumbled, focusing the brunt of his attention on the side of the pier. He began to prowl the edge, inspecting it

' _You think she's in the ocean? Arceus, I knew believing you was a mistake,'_ I groaned. _'We should've never left the hospital.'_

"Look! See!" Hilton cried pointing ahead of us. A thin concrete staircase broke off from the pier, descending down towards the water and wrapping around the front of the pier, out of sight. Only a thin metal chain barred off the hidden staircase from which a metal warning sign hung.

Without a second glance, Hilton slipped under the chain and took the narrow stairs two at a time.

I looked backwards at the swinging sign. _'I can't read, but I'm pretty sure black and yellow signs mean "go back to the hospital, Hilton you madman,"'_ I said, tightening my grip on his nasty coat. ' _We shouldn't be here,'_ I cried. I could practically hear the security guards pounding after us, batons raised with crackling Tasers in hand. ' _We're going to get in trouble!'_ I hissed.

"I saw Claire!" Hilton repeated, stepping down onto flat ground. "She had a black turtleneck on!"

' _No one wears turtlenecks in the middle of July!'_ I cried, wanting to throw my hands in the air in exasperation, but knowing that would result in me sliding off his back and into the ocean. Sweat slid down the back of my neck, sending shivers along my spine. Sweat from the unforgiving summer sun plastered Hilton's wild hair to his forehead and the back of his neck. That atrocity to both God and nature—his coat—cooked him in the heat. This was a mistake. We were chasing ghosts in the middle of a foreign city and Hilton was literally wearing trash as a disguise.

Hilton, oblivious as usual to my internal strife, walked along the precarious path that wrapped around the pier, slick with water. The crowds of tourists still mulled around on the pier above, and the waves crashed to our right. A spray of chilling water slammed into us, soaking the bottom of the trench coat and Hilton's bare legs. The smell of the sea and food carts started to mix with something foul, and I crinkled my nose. Hilton recoiled at the smell, covering his nose with the sleeve of his equally rank coat.

"Gahh, what is that‽" he asked, recoiling as if he'd hit a barrier, almost shaking me off in the process.

' _It's your dumb trash coat!'_ I said, burying my nose slots in my shoulder.

"No, no, it's a different smell!" Hilton insisted.

' _It smells like death, Hilton,'_ I said, grimacing, and looking around for the source.

"Oh, I think it's coming from in there,"Hilton said, voice muffled by his sleeve, but he pointed to a concrete doorway in the pier wall several yards ahead. He paused for a moment, glancing between the door and the crowd on the pier above.

' _Oh no no no no, we are_ _ **not**_ _going in there! Do you hear me Hilton whatever-your-last-name-is_ _‽_ _'_ If I had hair, I would've pulled it out by now.

Ignoring me like usual, he walked up to the door, examining the bulky structure. Could he not see the angry red and yellow signs coating the concrete?

' _You have this really bad problem with selective hearing things and selective seeing things, you know that?'_ I went on, still tugging on his coat back towards the way we came.

Hilton fiddled with the lever and found it unlocked. He rested his good shoulder on the metal, and pushed inwards. The door creaked open, letting a barrage of the revolting stench attack our noses. Hilton stumbled forward, pressing both hands to his nose, and I thought I saw light reflecting off tears in his eyes from the offensive fumes.

"For Claire!" Hilton managed, pushing forward and wiping the tears out of his eyes.

Dirty cobble stone paths and brick walls that collected grime and let it fester in the mortar stretched before us. Rusty pipes lined the walls, occasionally crossing the walkway into the river of sewage. I shuddered. Who knows who or _what_ lurked down here.

' _Congratulations, we found the sewer! How about we go back to the hospital now?'_ I said, the heat and my exhaustion putting a hard edge to my words.

The sounds of water sloshing through pipes, echoing droplets, and the constant mechanical whirr of some large machine filled the thick air.

Hilton walked forward, keeping his nose shielded from the smell, but looking around curiously. Lights at measured intervals lit our path, and although the sewage system itself decayed, the pathway had been maintained.

Every step Hilton made rebounded down the path into the matrix of tunnels ahead of us.

' _Wait, stop!'_ I said.

"We're not going ba—" Hilton started

"Shhh!" I hissed. ' _Listen.'_

We both cocked our heads, trying to filter out the natural noise of the sewers. A faint hissing echoed around the maze, sounding too irregular and organic to come from the pipes. I scrunched my face, listening. It almost sounded like…!

' _Whispering! Someone else is down here!'_ I hissed.

Hilton nodded, tiptoeing forward.

' _We need to go!'_ I said, tugging on his coat. _'They're probably maintenance workers, and when they find us-!'_ I paused as Hilton peaked around the corner, craning my neck to see.

My eyes scanned the corridor, working to penetrate the shadowy corners left by the erratic flickering lights. At the end of the path, two tall figures crowded by a door in the concrete.

My sharp inhale sounded like the crack of a whip. It reverberated around the sewer, like a crowd gasped along with us.

Hilton jerked back behind the safety of the corner. We stared at each other wide-eyed, searching for confirmation that we weren't hallucinating. We both saw that shock of orange even in the shadows. The figures wore the same black emblem Cenric once had. A series of dark shapes that made my stomach drop and my hands feel sweaty.

Reliance was here in the Castelia sewers.

Hilton and I sat in frozen silence for a moment, trying to understand the full ramifications of what we'd just discovered.

"Get back inside," one of the grunts hissed to the other.

The other grunt laughed. "You really think the League is going to come and look for us in the sewers?" she said loudly; the sound of her harsh voice bounced down the tunnels.

"Shhh!" her friend hissed. "You know our orders!"

I could practically hear the loud grunt rolling her eyes.

"Fine fine! Have it your way! But as soon as the League leaves, I'm out! I didn't sign up for this!"

This time the quiet grunt laughed, "Because prison is so much better?"

"Whatever, just open the door, idiot," she said, and I heard the metal screeching of a wheel being turned then the door banged close.

After steadying his breathing, Hilton pushed himself off the floor, and I clung to his shoulder to keep from falling off.

"Claire's Ralts…" he murmured, staring at the floor.

' _I know, I know…'_ I said. This was huge. We had to tell the police or the League right away.

Hilton crept forward, peaking around the corner again. The grunts were gone. Vanished behind a heavy metal door. With a nod, Hilton walked back towards the exit, careful to avoid steeping on anything that might make noise and reveal our position.

I found myself trembling, so I dug my hands further into Hilton's dirty coat, trying to steady them. Hilton's breathing was short and his lungs ground against each other with every inhale like a car engine, but I could see a smile playing at his deformed lips.

' _Why are you excited about this_ _‽_ _'_ I asked, glancing behind us expecting to see a hoard of Reliance grunts after us.

Hilton didn't answer, reaching for the door. He pulled it open with care, and warm salty air blew past. I breathed it in greedily, letting it flow over my bod and peel the sewer's stench off.

Hilton stepped out onto the pathway, closing the door behind him. The waves crashed against the concrete, splashing up on us and reflecting the mid-afternoon sun. Wingull cried out and the soft rumble of the crowd above us echoed across the expansive sea.

"This is huge!" Hilton mumbled, walking back towards the stairs.

' _Why are you happy about Reliance being here_ _‽_ _Who knows what damage they've done...'_ I said scowling. A bitter taste collected in my mouth as I thought about Claire and her fate.

"Sure, it's bad for Reliance to be anywhere, but isn't this the best case scenario? They're trapped in the sewer and the entire League is here!" Hilton said with a manic grin.

My eyes widened. _'Arceus, Hilton! That might be the first intelligent thing you've said, well, ever!_ ' I exclaimed.

"They could be holding Claire here!" Hilton continued, taking the steps up two at a time. "Didn't Maylene say Reliance started in Unova? This could be their headquarters! We can shut Reliance down for good!" he said, stepping up onto Thumb Pier.

' _We need to call the police! Or a gym leader!'_ I said, tugging on his dirtied coat.

Hilton paused, rubbing his chin in thought. "I don't have anything to call with, you know that," he said, "But," he said, eyes widening, "we can probably find Maylene at the Pokémon Center! We can tell her!" he said, heading down the pier with renewed vigor.

Hilton wove through the tourists, ignoring their shocked staring at his mutated face. Hilton chattered on in his excitement to me, but I barely heard him. We might actually find Claire this time. My sinuses stung, and warm tears started welling up in my eyes. This whole thing could all be over! We could finally go back to the way things were! Things would make sense again!

The mechanical whirr of the Pokémon Center's automatic doors woke me from my trance. Hilton entered the crowded building, standing on tiptoes to try to find any gym leaders amongst the hoard of mulling trainers.

He frowned, gritting his jagged teeth. "Gah! Where's Maylene‽ I thought she was staying here!" The trainers pushing towards the main counter largely ignored him.

' _Try to get to the front desk. Maybe they know where she is, or maybe they have a phone we can use to call the police,'_ I suggested.

"Good thinking, Claire's ralts!" Hilton said. I frowned at the all-too-frequent-epithet, but put it aside as Hilton tried to garner the attention of the Pokémon Center clerk.

The teenager started upon noticing Hilton's looming form with his warped face and ragged coat. We probably still smelled rancid. The clerk wrinkled his nose, shooting a glance at his coworkers behind the main counter. Arceus, he thought we were about to mug him!

"Hey, do you know where Maylene is?" Hilton asked, out of breath and with that slight rasp pulling at his words.

The pock-marked teen shrunk back in his chair, casting his colleagues increasingly frantic glances. "Sorry, she's not in right now," he managed.

"Oh…" Hilton said, expression falling. "Then can I use your phone? I've got to call the police! I've got to tell them Reliance is hiding out in the sewers!" Hilton said, in eager but hushed tones.

The secretary managed to keep his face static, but slowly slid the phone away from us. He pulled out a sheet of paper and clicked a pen, scribbling the time on it.

"What did you say your name was again?" he asked, pen poised over the paper.

"Oh, it's Hilto—Ouch!" My sharp yank on his earlobe silenced him.

' _Don't tell him that! He thinks yours—_ _ **we're**_ _crazy!'_ I hissed.

"No, he's going to help us," Hilton said dismissively. The man's eyes widened. Without hearing my telepathy, Hilton appeared to be talking to himself. The clerk carefully picked up the phone.

"Why don't you to just take a seat in the seating area over there and all find Maylene for you," he said slowly, like he was talking to a child.

' _He's gonna have us sent back to the hospital, run!_ ' I shouted

Hilton gracelessly pivoted on his heels, stumbling for the entrance.

"Wait, come back here!" the secretary shouted, but the doors parted before us and Hilton staggered into the street. He paused, looking both ways down the busy boulevard before lurching right. I heard shouting behind us, but Hilton jumped through a crowd at a bus stop and dove into an alleyway using the bustling bodies as cover. He ducked behind a trash can, the force of his motion almost slinging me off, but I clung to his shoulder by the tips of my fingers He slammed into the brick wall, breathing heavily. It was a harsh, wheezing sound as his chest worked frantically to deliver the required oxygen with broken lungs. Just listening to it made my chest ache.

We waited in silence, listening to our pursuers near and then boarding the bus, searching. After they'd searched the entire vehicle, to the dismay of the chronically grouchy Castelians, they let the bus go.

"I think they're gone, Gomez," a women said.

"Arceus, he's a menace! He's going to hurt himself or someone else," the secretary said in response.

"If he's really that much of a danger, I'm sure the police will find him soon enough," the woman replied as their voices faded into the murmur of the crowd and roar of cars.

' _What now?'_ I asked, looking to the tired boy. He leaned his head back against the brick, chest still heaving. Hilton cast his slotted pupils in my direction.

"Any ideas?" he asked, managing a weak smile. I just shrugged. Hilton tried to shift in place, the front of the noxious coat slid open, revealing a slice of the patterned hospital gown beneath. Hilton tilted to one side, yanking the rest of the coat out from under him. With his range of movement restored, Hilton settled back against the wall. He set his hand down, causing something to crunch. Frowning, he lifted his hand, digging in his pocket to pull out the contest flyer from before. Hilton uncrumpled it, passing his eyes over the vibrant colors.

"You know, he did say some of the League members would be there…" Hilton began, watching my face for a reaction.

' _He did,'_ I acknowledged, thinking back to the old man. _'Don't humans need, like, tickets for something like that? Or money?'_ I asked, trying to not get too hopeful.

"We wouldn't have to get in to the actual arena I don't think…" Hilton said, "All we'd have to do is find Maylene, or a League member?" he said, but the lack of confidence in his voice made it sound more like a question.

' _Well, what choice do we have? After that clerk warned the police about us, they won't listen, right? The hospital already thinks you're crazy, and we don't have money for a payphone. Maylene would believe us though…'_

Hilton nodded in agreement. We had to find a familiar face. We needed someone to believe us. If we could just convince a single person enough to go down to the sewers and check themselves…

We sat still for several second more before Hilton pushed himself up and dusted himself off. It did little to remove the grime embedded in the fiber of the coat. With another deep breath, Hilton stepped out into the sidewalk, this time keeping his head down.

' _You know where the contest hall is?'_ I asked carefully. Just wandering around hoping to find it _is_ something he'd try.

"Yeah," he murmured under his breath. "I could see it from my window at the hospital, couldn't you?"

I shrugged. All human buildings started to look the same. _'Hilton, there's going to be a ton of people at the contest hall. We'll have to be careful so no one from the hospital recognizes us before we tell Maylene,'_ I warned.

Hilton stopped. We reached the end of Pier Avenue, and Gym Street lay to our right.

"You're right," Hilton mumbled, starting to pace. The passing business people eyed us as they passed. Hilton looked up to stare at himself in the glassy reflection of a shop window. We looked like a mess. The ratty hobo coat did little to shield the world from the permanent sneer Reliance left on the right side of his face. Hilton's greasy hair stuck out at strange angles while the hair closest to his face clung to the sweat on his temples. Dark bags hung under his eyes from sleep deprivation and constant stress. His normally pudgy form looked almost gaunt in the massive coat, the mutated side inhumanly so.

He held himself with an awkward hunch now, and the bottom half of his coat and bare legs were still soaked from the pier. And none of that accounted for the awful sewer stench that hung on us like a cloud! It was all so ridiculous it almost looked like a costume! Maybe we'd get lucky and the citizens of Castelia would just think he was some sort of exotic street performer. That was preferable to escaped hospital patient or a would-be-exhibitionist.

I heard Hilton sniffle. He opened his mouth to say something, but his voice caught in his throat. I tried to push my own exhaustion aside and comfort him, but couldn't find the words. Just as Hilton tried to speak again, a voice called out from behind us.

"Young man!"

Hilton spun around to face the contest man from before. Geez. This guy was everywhere!

"On your way to the contest?" He asked nearing us. The old man wore a pressed suit this time. He paused, face scrunching as he confronted the glorious aroma of sewage. In seconds he regained mastery of his face, forcing a smile.

"I-I need to talk to Maylene, but…" Hilton said, gesturing lifelessly. There was no way he'd get into a fancy contest hall looking like this, and if he did he would attract so much attention the hospital staff would find him immediately.

The man just smiled. "Ah, well, at least let me escort you there."

Hilton nodded, sniffling for the last time. The man led the way down Gym Street and we followed. He explained more about the significance of the contest hall, and how it could revive pokémon contest in other regions. His voice soon faded to the sound of my own looming premonitions. We wouldn't see combat, right? We'd just tell Maylene, she'd take the police down there, capture Reliance, and all while we were safely back at the hospital. They'd find Claire, cure Hilton, set Cenric free, Dialga would fix me, and that would be that. Right?

"Here she is," the old man said affectionately, eyes sparkling. His added enthusiasm broke me from my train of thought. He gestured to the massive contest hall. It had the same dome roof characteristic of all contest halls. It reflected the sun in a certain way that made the swooping architecture glow. Ornate pillars decorated the flat stone walls, mixing the traditionally extravagant designs of the past with simplistic postmodern architecture. The entire building had been expertly crafted to mix traditionalism with contemporary flair.

Before we could finish gaping, the man pushed us inside the revolving doors. Hilton stumbled into the air-conditioned room. The protests died on his lips as he absorbed the sight.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** So Hilton makes even more poor decisions and Noël goes along with them, but is anyone even surprised at this point? So we found a little surprise beneath Castelia, but do you think even Maylene will believe them? It's a hard truth to swallow for anyone! What are your thoughts about Hilton and Noël at this point? What havoc is Lawrence wrecking in the meantime?

 **Fun Fact** : Hilton and Noël have suffered through several name changes. For Hilton it was: Harold to Hylton to Hilton, and Noël's was Zodiac to Zoroack to Xyth to X-cythe to, finally, Noël.


	7. The Boy Who Cried Reliance

**A/N:** *finger guns at random bg cameos*

 **Chapter 7: The Boy Who Cried Reliance**

 **(***)**

Lavish was too weak of a word to describe the Castelia contest hall's lobby.

The ceiling spanned above us at least four stories high, and windows covered the supporting walls, letting the amber afternoon sun fill the lobby. Gold coated nearly every surface. Gold on the railings, gold on the statues, gold on the pillar tops, gold on the ceiling! The ceiling itself was a work of art: a swooping dome plated in gold and engraved with an elaborate battle scene featuring the Tao Trio.

Large crystalline chandeliers hung down from long chains, casting warm light on the large room. Rich mahogany and panes of tufted crimson velvet paneled the walls. Islands of big gold statues—both human and pokémon-broke the ocean of red carpet. The designer—Burgh perhaps-hid small bug motifs within the gold filigree.

A mahogany railing divided the room in half, separating the contestants from the spectators. On the contestants' half was a miniature Pokémon Center, Poké Mart, rows of ornate burgundy love seats, and a registration desk, but it was barren of people. The mammoth screen mounted above the check-in desks played live footage of the contest already in progress.

In contrast, the spectators' half teamed with humans. Metal poles and red velvet rope wove a long maze, and inside of it twisted a long line of nicely dressed spectators, waiting to be let into the main arena or in line in front of the ticket booths. Employees scrambled to open the concession stands to our right, and the smell of warm popcorn drifted my way.

The old man stared at the jumbotron, frowning, and checked his watch. "Butter nuggets, time got away from me," he mumbled.

"What?" Hilton asked absently, still absobing the grandeur of our surroundings.

"Prelims have already started. I guess my watch runs a little slow. You can't see Maylene yet," he said, gazing at the jumbtron. The camera flashed to a close up of Maylene seated in the audience, smiling and waving at the crowd.

"What‽" Hilton exclaimed with an edge of panic in his voice, spinning to face the man.

"Let me explain," the man said calmly, "Because of some of Reliance's stunts over the past few months, they upped security a little. No one is allowed to move around the main halls during the contest. Not after what happened back in April—" Hilton threw his hands into the air, but the old man just continued, "which means, we'll have to catch her in between the first and second rounds."

At that Hilton paused, cocking his head in confusion.

Sighing the old man explained further, "This is a Normal Rank Contest, which means mostly anyone can enter. There are two rounds in pokémon contests, the primary round aka prelims, where pokémon are graded on their condition. There, all but the top twenty are eliminated then comes the secondary round, where trainers and pokémon perform appeals. That's the main part of contests. Most of the spectators don't even come until then. Prelims is a relatively lengthy process after all, especially for Normal Contests. Anyways, after the second round there's a shorter, second intermission where the judges tabulate the scores, they announced the winners, and award the ribbons."

"So, what? We just wait outside until prelims let out, and find Maylene then?" Hilton asked, eyebrows pressed together in consternation.

"I'm afraid I'll have to work a little magic before security will allow that," he said, a twinkle returning to his eyes.

"What do you mean…" Hilton asked, taking a step away from the man.

"We've got to clean you up first, ahh, won't this be a treat for you?" he cried, clasping his hands together.

Hilton just tilted his head in bewilderment. I frowned at the man, trying to decipher the meaning behind his actions and then-!

' _Hilton, he thinks you're an actual homeless kid,'_ I hissed. I felt him stiffen beneath me.

"I'm a charity case," he mumbled, eyes wide.

"Sorry, what was that?" the old man asked, leaning in.

"Nothing, I'm just…really grateful for this…opportunity! Thank you!" Hilton said, managing to recover as best he could.

The old man just smiled. "Now," he said, grasping Hilton's arm. That he could stand to be within six feet of us while we smelled like sewer was a miracle. "Let's get you dressed for the occasion!" he said, pushing us towards a door camouflaged against the wood paneled wall. He opened the door to reveal a small winding hallway covered in doors.

"Are we supposed to be back here? It looks like it's for contestants," Hilton said, taking a nervous glance down the hallway.

The old man just nodded, pushing Hilton down the hall and to the last door.

"Who are you, anyways?" Hilton asked, stepping aside so he could open the door. The man just grinned.

"There's a shower in the back. Go clean up, and I'll find something for you to wear," he said, and vanished back down the hallway.

"Um, yeah. Okay," mumbled Hilton as he stepped into the dressing room. It wasn't a large space, but its wood and velvet mirrored the grand entry room. One wall held an empty rack where the normal contestants would've kept their costumes, and the other had a wall-to-wall counter with a big mirror for makeup. The entire room smelled like perfume and mahogany, and although it was strong, it wasn't unpleasant. The hanging lamp cast a warm light on the entire room, make us feel a little more at ease.

Hilton set his pack down on the round ottoman that acted as the room's centerpiece, plucking me from the top of his pack. He wrinkled his nose, grinning. "Wow, we really do smell."

I huffed. _'Speak for yourself.'_

"This seems so pointless," Hilton grumbled. "Why can't we just find another way? There has to be someone else who will believe us. We could just drag a police officer down there," he said.

' _No, the police take you back to the hospital and men in white are going to make you look at ink blots and ask you about your feelings,'_ I said. I'd told more than one person about his actual delusions, and now it was coming back to haunt me. _'Reliance doesn't know we know. They're not going to evacuate in the twenty minutes it'll take to find Maylene,'_ I said, more for myself than him.

He just groaned and headed for the bathroom door. Hilton shifted me into one arm and opened the door with his other. The bathroom was small, but otherwise unremarkable.

' _Let me wash in the sink!'_ I chimed, glancing nervously at the bathtub. I'd rather smell like a sewer for the rest of my life than bathe with Hilton. I shuddered at the thought.

Hilton, oblivious to all of this, set me down in the sink with a smile. I flipped the hot tap and plugged the drain, sinking into the smooth basin as my muscles finally started to relax. I could feel the layers of grime and sweat peeling off me.

Laying back, I watched Hilton try to squirm and dance his way out of that awful coat. With great effort, he stripped down to his boxers, and I could stop my sharp intake of breath.

I'd never seen him this undressed— _thankfully_ —but it also meant I'd never seen the full extent of his mutations. Inky splotches battled their way across his flabby chest, unevenly splitting his body in two. The mutations still held his left shoulder in a half-shrug, and the dry, scaling skin was still peeling off in large white sheets. Several yellow tumorous lumps hung off the left side of his torso, swaying slightly when he moved. I fought the urge to vomit.

Hilton held out his left arm. Twisting it. Examining it. He bent his arm, testing his range of motion. A 60 degree angle was the best he could get out of it.

He glanced over to me and froze as he caught me staring. I averted my gaze immediately, but it was too late. Curiously, he stepped towards the mirror.

' _Hilton,'_ I cautioned, but he ignored me, scanning his reflection.

"It's pretty bad, isn't it?" he said, trying to force a smile, but the corners of his lips kept pulling downwards. Despite his attempts, he couldn't hide the tremble in his bottom lip. Sniffling, he turned his back to me.

"Cenric kept saying it wasn't that bad," Hilton said, forcing a stiff laugh that only caused his voice to crack. "What a liar."

I flipped myself around to face him, causing the water to slosh over the edge of the sink and hit the floor with a splat.

Hilton staggered back over. "Claire will never want me now," he whispered sinking onto the toilet seat and wrapping himself in his arms to keep himself from falling apart.

I ignored that first bit. ' _Hilton_ ,' I called, trying to sound soothing. He ignored me and another sniffle escaped him.

' _Hilton,'_ I called again, pushing my way into his head. He looked up at me, eyes watering and snot dripping down his face. _'Isn't_ _that part of the reason we're fighting Reliance?'_ I continued.

His brows scrunched and he wiped his nose with his bare arm. "Whaduya mean?"

' _I mean, once we tell the League the Reliance headquarters is in the Castelia sewers, they'll shut it down, right? After Reliance is defeated, they'll have to give up all their data, and that means they'll find a way to change you back,'_ I said. I didn't know if it was the truth, but it sure sounded nice.

"M-maybe it only works one way," Hilton said, wiping his eyes with the same arm he just used to wipe his nose. I cringed.

I sighed, leaning forward. ' _Do you want me to tell you a secret?'_

He looked up, sniffling again.

' _Well, I felt like you did right after my skull plate got cracked.'_ I neglected to mention he was the cause of that particular malady. ' _I was really upset, but then I remembered something really important. Once we beat Reliance, we'll get Claire_ _ **and**_ _Dialga back.'_

"You think he can reverse time to before this happened?" Hilton asked, eye wide.

I shrugged, and a little more of the water from the sink sloshed out onto the tile floor. ' _Probably. He's a time god after all.'_

Hilton nodded slowly, processing the information.

' _It's not permanent. You'll be back to normal before you know it,'_ I said to him but privately telling myself the same thing over and over again.

Hilton nodded, inhaling deeply to suck the rest of the snot back inside his nose. Blech. Humans were disgusting. Hilton hopped into the shower, and we washed in silence, each lost in the gloom of our own situation.

A brisk knock on the door startled Hilton so much he slipped and fell over in the tub. I snorted, watching him clumsily pull himself up.

"Young man? Are you done showering? I brought clothes to try on!" the old man said.

"Just one minute!" Hilton groaned stepping onto the bathmat, toweling himself off and putting his boxers back on. He hobbled for the door, unplugging my drain on his way. I whined as my warm solace started to swirl down the drain. Hilton opened the door slowly, revealing a stack of clothes with legs. A beaming, wrinkled face appeared around the side. The old man opened his mouth to say something, but paused, eyes flashing over Hilton's mutations. The color drained from Hilton's face, and he lunged to close the door, but the old man caught it.

"Go sit on the ottoman, son. I think we need to have a chat," he said turning, and after grabbing me out of the sink, Hilton followed.

Hilton plopped down on the ottoman, setting me down next to him, and we watched the old man hang up his costume choices on the rack. Hanging the last one, he came over and sat down to Hilton's right.

The old man cleared his throat. "I didn't want to say anything before, but I think your body modification have gone too far, son. Think of the future!"

Hilton stopped, trying to understand that statement. All at once he jerked, making a bizarre choking sound and covering his mouth. He started to giggle, shoulders shaking. I smiled in my confusion, glad he was feeling better, but confused about the joke. What was so funny?

"No no," Hilton said, wrangling back his laughter. "These aren't body modifications," he said, gesturing to his still-dripping torso.

The only man frowned in confusion, crossing his arms and cocking his head.

Hilton, still grinning, watched the old man, deciding whether or not to tell him the truth. I elbowed him in the ribs. "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you," he finally said.

The old man placed a hand on Hilton's arm. "Try me?"

"Umm…ummm, I had an accident? At a, uh, acid factory? Then I lost my job and I've been on the streets since?" Hilton supplied weakly.

And acid factory? Really? Arceus, how could you be so good at lying to yourself, but so bad at lying to other people.

The old man jumped up, patting Hilton's shoulder. "It's okay son, it'll all turn around with a little hard work," he said consolingly.

Wait, he bought that?

"I can't do anything about what happened then, but I can definitely get you to Maylene," the old man continued with a determined gleam in his eye. "Now, let's get you dressed," he said, stepping towards the now-full clothes rack. Running aged fingers over the hangers and after much internal debate, he settled on a suit, pulling it off the rack and holding it up for Hilton to see.

"A tux? In the summer? Don't you think it's a little much?" asked Hilton shifting uncomfortably, and raising an eyebrow.

The old man rolled his eyes, taking a pointed glance at Hilton's hobo coat lying on the bathroom floor.

Hilton flushed embarrassedly.

The old man smiled, "Or…would you rather wear something a little more… avant-garde?" he teased, pulling a pink bikini styled to look like an audino.

"No no no! The suit is fine!" Hilton said, waving his hands. I groaned, trying the claw that mental image out of my mind.

With help from the old man, Hilton began to slide into the suit. The dress shirt hung off of his deformed frame, large and baggy, so the old man had to swap it for a smaller size. Hilton took the news with wide eyes, mumbling something that sounded like, "That's a first."

"You know that old coat makes you look bigger than you really are," the old man said, helping Hilton with the top button. Hilton gave him a weak grin, flashing his red incisor. I frowned at that. Sure, Hilton dropping a few pounds was healthy, but I had a sick feeling that it wasn't due to his trash coat. As soon as he told Maylene, I'd make sure he was on his way to the hospital.

"Hmm," the old man said, hand cupping his chin and taking a step back to admire his handiwork.

"What…what about my face?" Hilton asked softly, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Not everyone will think it's a body mod," Hilton said, looking up and grinning playfully.

The old man put his hands up, "Hey, you young kids do the craziest things. It wouldn't surprise me," he said defensively, but was unable to keep the smile off his lips. He sighed. "But, you're probably right. I'll see what I can do," he said, heading for the door.

As the door closed, Hilton turned to me, spreading his arms wide.

"Well, Claire's Ralts, what do you think?" he asked, doing a slow spin for me.

I mean, besides the hideous mutations, he almost looked presentable. He was clean, his hair wasn't greasy, there weren't food stains on his clothes. It was practically a miracle.

The suit was deep indigo with pinstripes, and he wore a pale yellow dress shirt underneath with a silk tie. Still, the suit looked positively tame next to that audino bikini.

' _You're a little different now, Hilton_ ,' I said, staring at him in his borrowed finery.

Hilton smiled crookedly—with his mutations all his smiles were crooked—and said, "Well, I guess I'm half pokémon now, after all."

' _No, no. Not that,'_ I said, waving the thought away. It was hard to pinpoint exactly. He still had that irritating squinting habit, still was overweight and still had poor hygiene. Maybe it was something in his demeanor. Before I could put it into words, the old man came back in again, holding something behind his back.

"Ta-dah!" he said, presenting it to Hilton, who saw the item and looked up at the elderly gentleman in horror. I cocked my head, why was he so…?

"I tried to find some of the piplup, turtwig, and chimchar ones since you said you were from Sinnoh, but the children love those, and they go so quickly. This was all we had left," the man said, offering Hilton a mask.

Hilton stared slack-jawed at the mask, taking it with numb hands and staring into the eyeless pits of the seviper mask.

I froze.

' _Hilton,'_ I asked as quietly as my telepathy would allow. _'Is the pokémon you were fused with…?'_

Hilton just nodded slowly, swallowing hard.

Whether the old man had intentionally chosen a seviper mask or it was just cruel happenstance was beyond me.

"If you don't want a mask…" the old man bridged.

"No, no it's fine," Hilton said, holding the plastic up to his face and pulling the elastic behind his head.

"That's the ticket!" the old man said clapping happily. "Why, you look just like a contestant!"

"So now we wait to see Maylene?" Hilton asked, failing to keep the slight warble out of his voice.

The old man nodded. "We can go watch the jumbotron in the lobby while we wait for the primary round to finish if you'd like."

"Sounds great! Ready, Claire's Ralts?" Hilton asked, voice muffled a little by the mask.

Before I could nod, he swooped down and grabbed me, resting me in the crook of his arm. I frowned and used the lapels of his suit to pull myself up to his shoulder. There. Much better. Hilton grabbed Loonloon's poké ball on its necklace and slid it over his head so the poké ball itself hung right above his tie.

"Oh, my clothes," Hilton said, partially turning to get them.

"Don't worry about it," the old man said with a wave, "I'll have someone launder them and bring them back to you by the time the competition is over," he said, pushing Hilton out of the room. At that, Hilton relented and allowed himself to be escorted out. The old man led us back to the grand lobby and set us down on a plush couch to watch the contest.

"For normal contests the number of contestants is capped at one hundred, so the primary round tends to last around three hours. It really depends on how many judges we have and how fast they are. The judges give each pokémon a score based on their appearance, and the top twenty get to go onto the next round for appeals," the man explained.

"And we'll talk to Maylene between that?" Hilton asked.

The old man nodded. "And after that—oh, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to that woman!" he said, scurrying off across the lobby.

Hilton settled back into the couch, watching the judges examine the pokémon. I saw a little counter in the bottom of the screen. 17/100. I groaned. This was going to take forever! After the first five pokémon, my thoughts started to drift.

Hilton still needed to get to a hospital, we still needed to save Claire and get Cenric out of prison, and I still needed to convince Dialga to fix the crack in my skull. It started to tingle in response. I chewed my lip. Hopefully this would all be fixed in the next few days. We just had to get the League to take the Reliance headquarters below us, and the rest would be a piece of cake. Right?

"Hey, Claire's Ralts! Look! It's a shiny kirlia!" Hilton said, shaking me out of my reverie. I sighed, casting my eyes to the screen. My jaw dropped, and the back of my skull sent sharps tingles down my spine.

"Wow," I whispered, mouth dry. She was the most beautiful kirlia, no, pokémon I'd ever seen! She was stunning. Gorgeous. Aphrodite, Helen of Troy, and Cleopatra all rolled into one. She had this slender, willowy frame that made her look otherworldly in clear reference to her Fairy-typing. She spun a little circle for the judges, catching the spotlight in her fluttering skirt. The camera flashed to a close up, and I gasped. Bright vermillion eyes were pushed up from a mischievous, and completely charming smile.

I managed to drag my eyes off of her face to read her name at the bottom.

Monica and her kirlia, Lunette.

"Lunette," I whispered trying the name on my tongue; it tasted wonderful. "She's perfect…" I whispered, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

"What?" asked Hilton, but I barely heard him. "You know I can't understand you when you don't use telepathy, right?" I barely heard him.

"Kirlia are known for their abilities to sense emotions along with their powerful mirages and illusions," chimed an announcer, and the camera moved to the next contestant. I cried in outrage. Every pokémon that came after paled in comparison to Lunette!

Ah, Lunette, Lunette, Lunette. I spun around, flopping back onto the top of the couch and staring at the ceiling dreamily.

"Oh, check out that mienshao. I bet he's got a solid chance," Hilton said, and my mouth twitched in irritation.

' _Yeah, right. Lunette blows everyone else out of the water',_ I said, not even bothering to look at the mienshao. Lunette was far superior to any of the others. That she would come in any other place than 1st was unfathomable.

"How can you be sure? There are still fifty contestants left," Hilton said, and I could hear the frown in his voice the mask obscured.

I rolled my eyes. So he was a beauty expert now? I scoffed. ' _She's perfect. Did you see the way she looked at the camera. She's a pro! So confident,'_ I sighed dreamily. ' _I'll bet she's super smart and super nice too.'_

Hilton giggled; the sound echoed inside of his mask.

' _What?'_ I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing. You're just like me and Claire now!" Hilton proclaimed happily.

I froze.

A sick, nauseous feeling started twisting my insides, making my stomach churn. No no no. That was wrong. I wasn't like Hilton! I couldn't be! Hilton was a stalker. He made Claire uncomfortable. Hilton didn't love the real Claire; he loved a Claire he had fabricated in his brain….oh.

What did I know about Lunette at this point? Nothing. All those traits I thought she had were just fantasies. I groaned, rolling over to face the wall instead of the screen. I refused to become like Hilton! I couldn't let that happen!

I tried to shove the hauntingly beautiful kirlia out of my mind with only partial success. We watched the judges examine the pokémon. Sometimes the camera flashed to Maylene's smiling face, and Hilton tensed as if he were ready to run off and burst onto the stage.

After a time, all the pokémon started bleeding together, and I felt my mind starting to haze. Today had been so stressful. First we'd met the head of Independence on accident, escaped the hospital, chased a ghost through the streets of Castelia, and then Reliance, and now here. I yawned, looking over to Hilton. I couldn't see his face, but by the way his head was leaning to the side I guessed he'd fallen asleep. Silly human. I settled into the top of the couch, listening to his breathing. Every inhale ended in a sort of rasp. I frowned. That wasn't good.

"He really needs to get to a doctor," I mumbled, yawning again.

"Young man!" an urgent voice said. My eyes popped open, and I jumped a good foot into the air. What? What? Had I fallen asleep? I turned to see the old man shaking Hilton awake.

The green-haired boy stretched groggily. For a second Hilton reached up to pull off the mask, but the reality of the situation stopped him. Slowly, he dropped his hand.

"Yeah?" Hilton asked, and I could hear him yawn.

"The primary round is almost over. The judges will announce the scores and who is going onto the next round, and then there will be a recess. The doors will open, and we can catch Maylene then." The old man said.

That woke Hilton up. He jumped off the couch, and the shaking sent me tumbling down to the cushion. White sparks exploded from the back of my head, and I groaned.

"Sorry, Claire's Ralts!" Hilton said, picking me up and placing me on his shoulder. From my new vantage point, I observed the room. It'd filled almost entirely during our sleep, and dull crowd noises polluted the air. How had we slept through that? The chandeliers were brighter now, and the natural light from the windows was less intense. Outside long shadows covered the busy street.

"How long were we out?" ' _What time is it?'_ Hilton and I asked simultaneously.

"Oh, about two'ish, three hours, and it's…" the man turned to find the time on the jumbotron, "Seven minutes to six." The old man pulled a lanyard and badge out of his suit pocket, draping it around his neck.

' _You're joking!'_ I cried, knowing only Hilton could hear. Panic and dismay yanked at my insides. Hopefully it wasn't too late. I tried to remember the same words I used to comfort Hilton earlier, but they gave me little comfort.

The old man ignored our despairing looks, grabbing Hilton by the wrist.

Hilton yelped, and tried to match the old man's surprising speed. We hobbled past the teeming queue towards the door, earning us several dirty looks in the process. A staff member looked like he was going to ask us to get in line, but the old man just flashed his badge.

I looked longingly at the food court. It'd been hours since I ate back at the hospital. No! Strength! Willpower! If Hilton could ignore food, so could I! Still, my stomach groaned as the smell of popcorn hit my nose.

"You know we can't let you in Mr. Harrison until the first round ends. Contest rules," one guard said to the old man apologetically.

"I know, I know, but this poor young man would really like the chance to meet Maylene as soon as the round ends," said Mr. Harrison, our beautiful old guardian angel.

"Ah, sure thing. If you'd step over here Mr. Harrison," the guard said, pulling us aside.

"They know you?" Hilton asked, leaning over to whisper to Mr. Harrison.

The old man nodded. "I donated money to help build this place," he said.

"Wait, you own the contest hall? Why can't we just walk in? Screw the rules!" Hilton hissed.

"Relax, son. I didn't donate _that_ much money. I have to wait like everyone else," he said, earning satisfied nodded from the couple behind us. A gap in our conversation followed, but my stomach felt the need to fill it with a deep, gurgling, and entirely mortifying growl. The couple turned to stare at us, and my face grew hot, but Mr. Harrison just laughed.

"How long, gents?" the old man asked, turning back to the security guards.

"Shouldn't be much longer now," one replied.

"Well then, I'm going to get you boys some popcorn while there's still time," Mr. Harrison said, stepping towards the concession stands.

' _Don't leave us!'_ I cried at the same time Hilton let out a "Wait!", but the old man vanished into the mulling crowd.

' _What are we going to do if the doors open?'_ I hissed to Hilton, glancing nervously at the security guards.

"Go in I guess?" Hilton mumbled, unsure voice echoing around the inside of his mask.

I bit my lip, looking behind us for Mr. Harrison again amongst the throng of bodies crowding the vendors. _'We don't even know how to get to where Maylene was.'_

"Can't be that hard," Hilton said.

"What was that, boy?" the nearest security guard asked, eyeing Hilton.

"Oh, sorry! I was talking to Claire's Ralts," Hilton clarified with a short laugh that turned into a cough. I grabbed his lapels to keep from falling. I could feel the vibrations of his lungs rattling even through his suit.

The nearest security guard looked over to his coworker and they exchanged skeptical glances.

"See, now they think I'm crazy," Hilton whispered.

I wanted to tell him they were right, but the muted sound of applause cut in, drawing everyone's attention to the big oak doors before us. The first guard checked his watch.

"I guess it's that time," he said, turning to pull open the left door. Hilton stepped to the right just in time for a flood of bodies to stream out of the arena.

Something that sounded suspiciously like "uh-oh" echoed from Hilton's mask over the clamor. I craned my neck, trying to see over the heads of the other humans, but Hilton was too short and his slouching didn't help. _'I don't see Mr. Harrison!'_ I said.

The other security guard pushed open the right door in front of us.

"No time!" Hilton called as the crowd surged forward, pushing us along with them. They propelled us inside the entrance to the arena where the line divided into several and uniformed employees checked tickets and IDs before a row of turnstiles.

'Hilton, there she is!' I cried, pointing across the stadium to a slight figure with a shock of distinctive pink hair.

"That's her!" Hilton shouted, scrambling out of line and darting past the ticket takers.

"Hey, wait!" One shouted and hands grabbed for us, but Hilton set his butt on the flat side of the turnstiles and swung his legs over before hoping down on the other side.

"Come back here! Guards!" They called, but Hilton was off.

We jogged around the wide center aisle towards Maylene, as crowds of people passed us going the other direction. The large domed ceiling held a projection of the evening sky, shifting color beneath my gaze from peach to a jarring orange that cast a nervous light on the entire stadium. Long shadows crawled along the walls and rows of seats.

Hilton continued to push through the mass of humans before stopping in the middle of the aisle.

"Where is she? She was right here!" Hilton cried, spinning around. People shot us dirty looks as they had to push around us. A man bumped Hilton's other shoulder, sending Hilton stumbling several steps forward and almost throwing me off.

Taking the hint, Hilton staggered out of the main walkway to the nearest staircase, taking it as briskly as he could.

' _I still don't see her,'_ I said, scanning the crowd below.

"I'm glad you had the chance to visit Castelia," said a faint voice. Hilton whipped around in time to see a pink head vanish out of sight a level above us.

"Maylene!" Hilton shouted, scrambling up another set of stairs. The short gym leader paused mid-step.

"Hilton?" she asked, round face scrunching in confusion. Two other adult humans paused besides her, looking from us to Maylene.

Hilton jogged up to the short gym leader. He slid to a stop and took a moment to catch his breath while Maylene regarded him.

"That is you, right Hilton?" she said, twisting her head as if it'd allow her to see through the mask.

"Maylene! We had to find you!" Hilton gasped.

"How are you here? Why aren't you in the hospital?" she demanded, planting her hands on her hips. Her guests—a well-dressed couple, probably contestants—shuffled uncomfortably, averting their eyes from the exchange and pretending not to hear.

"Maylene, it's Reliance!" Hilton insisted.

Maylene's eyes widened then she grabbed Hilton's arm. "One second Miss. Maple and Mr. Hayden!" she called over her shoulder to her guests before dragging us several yards away.

"Reliance is in the city!" Hilton cried, pulling out of her grip. "They have a base in the sewer, and I think Claire is there!"

"What are you talking about, Hilton? Why are you in a suit? How did you get out of the hospital? Why did you get out of the hospital? Did they put you on those new pain meds?" Maylene said, eyeing us skeptically.

"But they really are there!" Hilton said, desperation invading his voice.

' _He's telling the truth!'_ I chimed in.

"Not you too, Noël." Maylene sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine, I'll make a call and have a couple people go look into it. I can check it out after the conte—"

"Noooo!" Hilton cried, shaking her, "Reliance is here! Now! We've already wasted too much time, and we've got to go save Claire!" he said, and tried to pull her towards the stairs.

Maylene twisted her arm out of Hilton's grip with practiced ease as a security guard ran up towards us.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" she asked Maylene, scowling at Hilton.

"No, no. I know them," Maylene said, waving the security guard off. After the guard backed off, Maylene leaned in. "Okay okay, I am going to have people look into it, but for now you guys need to go back to the hospital," she whispered seriously.

"No, you don't understand! The entire League needs to storm the sewer nooow!" he demanded, stomping his foot.

"Hilton, I don't even have the authority to mobilize the League, especially not just based on your word alone. My trainers will check it out, and if they find something, then we'll bring the League in. I'm sorry, Hilton, that's the best I can do," she said, taking a step back towards the contest couple.

The security guard stepped closer, and Maylene beckoned her over. The uniformed woman leaned down so Maylene could whisper in her ear. They both glanced in our direction. The guard nodded.

Maylene waved goodbye and turned back, continuing down the hall, but the security guard took a step forward.

' _She's gonna take us back to the hospital,'_ I groaned, massaging my temples.

"We can't go back until they do something!" Hilton hissed and bolted in the other direction. He jumped down the stairs, snaking the crowded hall as best he could. The security guard shouted behind us, but Hilton slid past an obese man and into the swarming lobby.

' _Just let them take us back, Hilton,'_ I moaned, as his uneven gait caused my torso to slam into his shoulder with every other step. _'We finished the job. Maylene is gonna take care of it.'_

"Done‽ Maylene didn't do anything!" Hilton argued.

' _She said she'd send people after the contest,'_ I pointed out.

"That's not good enough!" he said. "Just think about what they could do to Claire in three hours!"

I growled at that, narrowing my eyes.

' _You know you're not the only one who cares about her,'_ I said, glaring at the side of his head.

Before he could respond, I caught sight of a white-haired man drift across my field of vision. _'Look, there's Mr. Harrison!'_ I said, thwacking Hilton's shoulder harder than was necessary. _'If he's rich enough to own the contest hall, maybe he can help, and we can always try the police,'_ I said.

"No one is gonna believe us! You heard Maylene, we have to back and get proof," Hilton said, storming towards the door.

' _Wait—you don't mean…! Hilton, that's suicide! It's a miracle we escaped without them finding us the first time. We need help! Let's try Maylene again,'_ I said, tugging on his suit.

"No!" Hilton said, stopping suddenly, the force of which almost threw me off his shoulder. Several bystanders turned to look at the outburst.

' _We can't take on Reliance by ourselves!'_ I cried. This boy could be so pig-headed! It made me want to tear his hair out!

"We're not going to storm the base! We just need to grab some proof and come back! It'll take fifteen minutes tops! We don't need help!" Hilton said, attracting even more attention, especially because I was speaking telepathically to outsiders it looked like he was shouting to himself.

' _Mr. Harrison might know someone that can help us! Maybe we can take a security guard with us!'_ I said, increasing the power of my telepathy until I was shouting inside of his brain.

"I'm tired of depending on other people!" shouted Hilton, and the sentiment echoed around the lobby. By now everyone was staring. I saw security guards headed our way. We were causing a disruption.

' _There's nothing wrong with needing help,'_ I hissed, glancing over my shoulder at the approaching security.

"Maybe the only way to stop Reliance is by stop being so reliant," Hilton said, lowering his voice.

' _Whatever. We're about to be kicked out anyways,'_ I said, refusing to look at him. Hilton finally noticed the guards and made hasty retreat for the exit.

A humid evening wind blew down the street, catching the sunbeams as they crested over the buildings across the street, casting sharp violet shadows on the ground we stood.

Without a word, Hilton turned down the street, back toward Thumb Pier and the sewer entrance. His last sentiment reverberated around in my head.

Maybe the only way to stop Reliance is by stop being reliant.

Was he right? That was Reliance's goal, right? To make humans more dependent on pokémon? Was that a bad thing? Surely, I too wanted to be strong enough to stand on my own, but that dream was crushed a few days ago on some concrete stairs. Even if I could become strong, would depending on people be bad?

I groaned at my jumbled thoughts. When did life get so confusing?

Hilton continued down the road towards Thumb Pier, oblivious to the stares his attire was earning. He turned onto pier, scanning it for any crazed doctors or Reliance goons. Even the tourist were fewer, and the two cruises ship docked hours ago had vanished into the silver horizon. Most of the street performers had moved to a more profitable location along with the food carts. It took Hilton more time to find the little set of stairs, but he did eventually stumble upon them, stepping over the chain like last time and descending down the slippery stairs.

The sun was only an hour or two away from setting, already drifting towards where the graying sea met the pale blue sky. The intensity of its light started to dim along with its heat. Now there was nothing to dry the pants legs of Hilton's suit when the ocean rammed into the pier, spraying him from the waist down.

' _This is a bad idea. Like, really really bad. Even for you,'_ I said, holding tightly to Hilton's suit as he peered around the edge of the pier at the sewer's entrance. He paused, twisting his head to stare at me through the holes in his mask.

"Don't you want to save Claire?" he asked accusatorily, eyes narrowing.

' _Don't even start that with me!'_ I hissed. ' _She just your neighbor, but she's the closest thing to family I have!'_ I spat. I heard Hilton inhale, about to argue back, but a loud creaking sound came from behind us. Hilton whipped around. The lever on the sewer door was turning! Someone was coming out!

Hilton spun around, looking for a place to hide on the narrow path, but we were stuck between a concrete wall and the ocean. Hilton stared at the choppy water and took a step forward. I yanked back on his suit jacket.

' _There's no time! They'll hear the splash! We have to run!'_ I shouted telepathically. Hilton looked at the escape route for a moment, before turning to face the two Reliance grunts that had emerged. Thankfully, they were still too occupied by the door to look up and see us.

Hilton reached for Loonloon's poké ball.

' _You can't be serious! We can't take them!'_ I cried. He ignored me and stepped towards the grunts, poké ball in hand.

' _We're just going to get captured or worse!'_ I shouted, the force of my telepathy causing the back of my head to crackle with power.

"Hey, you!" one of the Reliance grunts shouted, finally noticing us and reaching for her own poké balls. The other grunt followed suit. Hilton made a move to release Drifloon.

' _Noooo!'_ I shouted, and my eyes started to burn. The world flashed white, and a sourceless pressure squeezed the air out of my lungs, squeezing my ribs. I gasped for air, but none came. Something snapped like the sound of a whip, and the world came back, dropping us down onto a concrete floor. Hilton crumpled into a pile, and I flew off his shoulder, skidding across the harsh floor until finally coming to a stop. The back of my head stung and burned while the rest of my body, from eyes to finger tips to toes, sparked with energy.

Hilton and I let out a unison groan. I rolled over to face him. We were in a completely different place than before! How? Did the grunts on the dock done this? Was it…me? It almost seemed like Teleport, but of course, I didn't know Teleport … Had my injury finally come in handy?

"Hey! You!" shouted a gruff voice, and my hope died. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a small room, lined with computer monitors receiving live camera feed on one side, and full of at least sixteen Reliance grunts.

Hilton rolled over to face the voice, and I watched his back go ramrod straight. Shock radiated from him like an electric charge. "Shi—" but before Hilton could finish that deep and meaningful sentiment, the first Reliance grunt hoisted him off the floor, pinning Hilton's hands behind his back.

"They're here!" shrieked one. "They know about us!"

"We've got to tell the admins!" shouted another.

"He's with the League!"

"No, he's with the International Police!"

"How'd they find us‽"

"I can't go to jail again!"

Someone in the chaos pulled an alarm. The world flashed crimson, and the siren whined so loudly that the grunt holding Hilton had to let him go to cover his own ears.

"Who pulled the alarm‽"

"Maybe it wasn't us!"

"There must be more of them!"

"Arceus! It's a raid!"

"I'm gonna get life if they catch me again!"

"I'm not going down without a fight!"

The grunts started to scramble for the exit, stepping over and around us and forgetting Hilton in the process. Again we were left in an empty room. Hilton and I just stared at each other.

What had we done?

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** So that could be bad. What's going to come of this mess? What are your thoughts on Hilton and Noël's relationship at this point? Do you think Noël is being too hard on him, or conversely, is he drinking the Kool-Aid too now?

 **Fun Fact** : Claire is 17 years old, Hilton is 16, Cenric is 19 and Cyan is 22. Noël is…idk like two or three? But if pokémon years work like dog years then he's 26'ish. God, Noël, stop playing with kids and go get a job. You have bills to pay.


	8. Disaster's Overture

**A/N:** I'm finally playing ORAS, right? And I'm just about to fight the eighth gym. I've got this kirlia—no, his name isn't Noël, it's Constantine-that's level 55 because you can't even get a dawn stone until victory road. What's up with that noise?

 **Chapter 8: Disaster's Overture**

 **(***)**

"Oh Phil, that was amazing!" said a woman in a silky gold dress as her date opened the door for her, allowing both to step out onto the street. "I've never seen a contest before," she continued.

Phil rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly. "Yeah, sorry I couldn't get us tickets to both rounds…" he absently put a hand on his empty wallet.

"Oh, don't worry about that! We had a great time!" she said, "Now, I get to pay for dinner," she said added with a wink.

Normally Phil would protest, but he didn't particularly feel like losing an argument when the date was going so well already.

"Let's go to Little Pancham's," she said, pointing across the street and taking his arm in hers. Pamela stepped off the sidewalk, dragging Phil behind her. The streets were uncharacteristically empty because of the contest in progress.

As Pamela's heels clicked across the asphalt, and the manhole cover started rocking.

The pair paused, and Phil pulled her back.

With a loud boom, the metal disk exploded from the street, leaving a trail of flames behind like a comet. It spun thirty feet in the air before crushing a mailbox. The couple screamed in unison and scrambled back.

A growling Houndoom sprung from the sewer, flames curling and boiling inside of his mouth. Several humanoid figures spilled out of the dank sewer behind him, orange hoodies catching the dying light.

Phil watched them in stunned horror, but Pamela let out an unearthly shriek that echoed down the empty street. "Reliance!"

 **(***)**

Hilton ran down the narrow path. A hoard of Reliance grunts tore past in the opposite direction, almost pushing Hilton into the river of sewage. He barely managed to balance himself, and I clung to his collar to keep from being flung off myself.

' _We should follow them! They're probably going to an exit!'_ I said as another siren blared, filling the tunnel with crimson light.

"What if Claire is down here‽" Hilton yelled over the noise.

I bit my lip. He had a point, but as of now the grunts vastly outnumbered us. It was by Arceus's grace that they seemed too occupied with escaping to notice us, but I didn't know how long that would last.

"Numel, use Flame Burst!" shouted a Reliance grunt, pointing her pokémon towards us. Hilton dove forward as a torrent of scarlet flames soared over us, singeing the back of my head. Hilton collided with the asphalt; the force of the impact sent me rolling off.

"Numel, Flame Burst again!" she shouted, and I yelped.

"Ralts, use Teleport!" Hilton cried from behind me.

' _I can't!'_ I screamed as more flames started to form in the numel's mouth.

"Try!" Hilton bellowed, and I felt the power start to spark in the back of my head.

I shouted as I tried to wrangle all the loose power in, trying to shape it to mimic the sensation from before. There! I managed to compress it into a small sphere, now I just had to—but then a flicker slipped through my control, and like a nuclear reactor breach, it exploded all at once. The force threw me back several feet to land on top of Hilton's legs.

I blinked hazily, groaning. My head stung, and the rest of my body was numb. Did it work?

"You did it, Claire's Ralts! I don't know what you did but it worked," Hilton shouted excitedly, pushing himself up and grabbing me along with his mask. The Reliance grunt and her numel lay in a tangled heap several yards from us. She started to groan, attempting to push her pokémon off of her.

"Yikes! Let's get going!" Hilton said, jogging past the fallen grunt before she could attack us again.

The siren blared again, illuminating the cavern. A deep resonating boom sounded, shaking the ground and sending a shower of dust down on our heads. Hilton tumbled to his knees, and I grabbed his lapels before I could be thrown off too.

"What was that‽" Hilton asked, jumping up to his feet and staring at the ceiling.

"Numel, Fire Blast!" shouted a voice from behind, and without looking back Hilton broke into a sprint.

' _Well, she recovered quickly.'_ I said, glancing back at our red-faced assailant. Another ball of fire shot past our heads, colliding with the wall ahead of us and sending bricks flying in every direction.

Hilton yelped, rounding the corner before Numel could get another shot off.

' _Still think we should stick around_ _‽_ _'_ I asked, waiting for another Flame Burst to fly past us.

"Nope!" shouted Hilton, running around another corner and ducking behind a large pipe the size of a large tree. I slipped down from his shoulder into his lap, breathing heavily. Sweat shone his forehead, and it was already seeping through his yellow dress shirt. Vicious tears marred the elbows and knees of his nice pinstripe suit. I hoped we wouldn't have to pay for that. The stench of the sewer made my eyes water and vision blur. I rubbed my eyes to help clear them, but the fog remained. Wait, not fog! Smoke!

' _Hilton! You're on fire!'_ I shouted, leaping off of him. He yelped and jumped out of his suit jacket. A small corner was still smoldering, so he kicked it into the sewage. It landed on the murky water with a hiss and sunk beneath the black suface.

Hilton peaked around the large pipe, trying to figure out if the commotion had given away our position. It hadn't.

"We need reinforcements," he whispered, and I nodded. This wouldn't be so bad once we got up to the surface. After all, most of the Pokémon League was here. We had not one, but several elite four members on our side.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the cavern, and we froze. A throng of Reliance grunts sprinted past us, the sunglasses bobbing up and down on their faces as they ran. They took terrified glances behind them and just ran faster.

"Come back here Reliance scum!" shouted a harsh voice, and a flood of flames raced past us, singeing the backs of the fleeing Reliance grunts. They yelped, tripping over each other. A pokémon with a man on his back rocketed past in pursuit, maintaining that brutal Flamethrower. I gasped just as they rounded the corner out of sight.

"That's was close," Hilton whispered, finally releasing his held breath.

' _That was Drake,'_ I breathed.

"What? Who?" Hilton asked, pushing himself off the dank brick path.

' _Drake! One of the elite four members from Hoenn! That means the League knows! We're saved!'_ I cried, starting to tear up. This would all be over in a few hours!

"That's great!" Hilton said, brushing his black dress pants off, but by now it was clear they were stained and ripped beyond salvation.

' _Now we need to get out of here!_ ' I said, glancing down the corridor.

Hilton nodded and picked me off the floor, placing me on my usual perch: his shoulder. At least he didn't try to carry me in his arms anymore. He trotted down the path after Drake, where unconscious and groaning Reliance grunts marked his wake of his ruin.

We passed several rooms where Reliance grunts scrambled around, crushing equipment and burning papers. The sounds of their destruction reverberated down the hall. Hilton just jogged faster to increase our distance from them.

By some miracle, we found a staircase out in the labyrinth of tunnels. Hilton ran up it, allowing the fresh air and the dying sun to wash over us. I tried to snort that terrible sewage stench out with no success. I'd be smelling it for months.

We'd exited to a small park, sandwiched between tall skyscrapers on all four sides. The tall untamed grass held several species of vibrant wildflowers, and a large pine tree grew from the center, standing guard over the park.

The sound distant shouting moved Hilton to action. He limped across the clearing; the wild pokémon there watched us curiously as we passed.

Hilton reached the chain-link fence at the back of the clearing and started to climb. He stood at the top for a moment, hands resting on the top bar. Sensing what was coming, I grabbed the collar of his dress shirt and clung tightly. He pulled himself up so his feet could rest on the top bar, and with a deep breath, jumped down.

For one glorious moment he landed on his feet, but his momentum carried down onto his knees, and he barely had time to get his arms in front of him, stopping his head inches above the tarmac. I hung from his collar like a tie and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Claire's Ralts, you're choking me," Hilton said, strained. Oops. I dropped down to the blacktop and he picked me back up and placed me on his shoulder. The shouting grew louder as Hilton stepped into the alley, nearing the street. Thunder cracked open the sky, shaking the ground beneath us. Hilton only faltered for a moment before continuing towards the street. With every step he took, the din crescendoed. We rounded the corner, taking our first glimpse at the demons we'd unleashed from Pandora's box.

My throat went dry.

Chaos.

The turmoil I'd seen at previous Reliance base was nothing compared to this! Battles lined the streets as far as I could see! Reliance grunts swarmed the roads like orange fire ants, pushing the regular trainers back. Lighting ripped open the sky, torrents of water flooded down the street , engulfing everything in their path, pokémon rammed into each other, sending them flying into the buildings, large chunks of the road were peeled up and hurled through air, filling the streets with clouds of dust, and a wheel of fire rocketed over our heads, melting a nearby streetlamp. The sky turned the jarring yellow of a hazard sign, and the sun sunk past the buildings, casting jagged shadows on everything. The night air sparked, electric and unstable, and smelled like fire and smoke. All traces of the pleasant smells of food vendors and ocean salt vanished with the sun.

"This is insane!" shouted Hilton over the screaming trainers, crackling of lightning, and an explosion that boomed down at the end of the boulevard, shaking the ground.

' _What do we even do now?'_ I asked trying to make sense of the chaos. In the barrage of rogue attacks and clouds of dust, I could hardly tell who was who. How were we supposed to make it back to the hospital like this?

"Go fight! We've gotta keep Reliance from escaping!" Hilton shouted, reaching for the poké ball around his neck and releasing drifloon. I rolled my eyes. Sure, she'd be a big help.

' _With the League out there, do we really have to fight?'_ I asked anxiously, watching the battles play out. Pokémon much stronger than me were getting eaten alive.

"Of course!" Hilton said, grabbing Loonloon by the strings. "There's like ten Reliance grunts to every trainer. We've got to help!"

"All the more reason to hide," I mumbled to myself. A flash of blinding amethyst light was followed by a roaring earthquake that sent several trainers to their knees. That'd be Latios. In that moment I thanked Arceus that he was on our side and not the other way around.

' _Wait wait wait!'_ I cried, finally having an idea that could buy me time, ' _Shouldn't we go defend the Pokémon Center or something? We can't let Reliance overrun it!'_

Hilton paused, crossing his arms and mulling over the idea. At last, he sighed."I guess you're right," he said. He picked me back up again, and I crawled onto my perch. Still holding Loonloon in one hand, Hilton crept forward, peering out of the alleyway.

"Toxicroak, use Venoshock!" cried a Reliance grunt, sending a spray of violet toxin in our direction. Hilton yelped, diving out of the way as the venom jetted over us and hit the side of the building, already starting to corrode through solid brick.

I tumbled onto the ground, the force of the fall ground my skin against the concrete sidewalk, but I didn't care. A mix of adrenaline and fear coursed through me, causing my heart to beat fast and dulling the sensation of pain. The back of my head started to spark again, but I ignored it and jumped back up, frantically searching for Hilton.

"Loonloon, use Gust! Claire's ralts, use Confusion!" I heard him call from somewhere behind me.

' _Are you insane_ _‽'_ I cried. ' _That thing's a monster!'_ I shouted to him, but Drifloon didn't care. Her body started to glow light blue, and she spun his tails around like a helicopter. A small, rather pitiful, looking tornado shot towards Toxicroak.

I shouted in frustration, focusing my psychic power. ' _Please, please work_ ,' I prayed. I felt my psychic core, bursting with excited energy that gave me goose bumps. With another scream I directed it towards Toxicroak. With a mighty arm he broke Loonloon's tornado, but the distraction allowed my Confusion to hit him full force. My energy flowed through the air, wrapping around Toxicroak and hoisting him into the air. He struggled, and almost broke free. I tightened my grasp, shaking him violently in the air before I had to release my hold. Toxicroak tumbled to the ground, and the Reliance grunt shouted angrily. With an angry croak, he pushed himself back up, fire in his eyes.

I screeched, running back to Hilton and hiding behind his legs. We were really dead now! Without waiting for his trainer's command, Toxicroak shot another Venoshock at us. Hilton darted one way and I dove the other. The venom narrowly missed us for a second time, melting a trashcan behind us.

"We're dead. Oh, we are sooooooo dead," I mumbled, unable to take my eyes off Toxicroak. The acrid smell of burning metal drifted from behind us and made my eyes water. Oh, we were sooo dead.

"Again! We've almost got him!" Hilton shouted. Drifloon launched another tornado, and I tried to summon another confusion. My power was getting wilder by the second, and much harder to control. I barely managed to send a weak Confusion in his direction. The Gust looked like it was going to hit first, but at the last second another Venoshock collided with it, sending acid spraying everywhere. Large gobs flew our way, and I ran towards a fire hydrant for shelter. One step from safety it clipped the back of my leg. I collapsed, screaming as the venom ate into my flesh.

Enraged and with burning tears in my eyes, I concentrated my Confusion, throwing Toxicroak several yards back to collide with his trainer. They smashed into each other and fell into a pile. Neither got back up.

"We did it!" Hilton shouted, jumping up and down as best he could. I barely heard him over my gross sobs. I tried wiping the venom off on the concrete, but that only irritated the wound even more. The world went hot and blurry, and everything besides my injured leg ceased to exists.

"Ralts!" Hilton shouted, grabbing me off the concrete. "We've gotta get you to the Pokémon Center!" he said, holding me close. I let out a whimper. Drifloon wrapped her tails around Hilton's forearm, and the boy began to run down the sidewalk.

The sky was crimson now, casting a dangerous almost manic light on the city. A storm of shouts still echoed down the street, and the ground shook on irregular intervals as massive attacks landed. Dust clung to my eyes and nose, making breathing even more difficult, and coated Hilton's torn dress shirt. Icicle spears flew through the air, and angry swarms of electricity crackled from somewhere behind us.

A deafening screaming came from the left, so loud I momentarily forgot my injured leg to shield my ear slots. Shouting, Hilton spirited forward as glowing sound waves smashed into the building behind us, sending a spray of broken glass in every direction. Hilton jumped forward with a cry as one nicked his shoulder before flying by my head. He hissed in pain through gritted teeth, but didn't stop running. The world sounded fuzzy and muted now, and as I withdrew my hands from my ears I found them covered in hot scarlet liquid. Tearing up again, I glanced to Hilton's face. It was plastered in a sick grimace, and I saw blood dripping from his ears too, but that didn't stop him. He kept running, and dodging attacks as they came barreling towards us. I felt my consciousness start to slip, and the world jerked in and out of focus.

A black shape speed in from my periphery. I tried to warn Hilton of the rock plummeting towards us, but my telepathy refused to obey. Hilton jumped out of the way, and the rock missed us by inches. The wind whipped Hilton's hair, and the rock crashed into the sidewalk behind us, spraying Hilton's legs with debris. Hilton stumbled, but managed to stay upright.

"We've gotta get out of here!" he managed, breathless and hobbling down the sidewalk.

"Sneasel, Ice Shard!" shouted a voice. I twisted my head in time to see cruel ice javelins jetting towards us, ready to nail us to the brick wall to our left.

I shouted internally. The spray was too wide. We wouldn't be able to clear them, and they'd impale us. I shut my eyes, and was immediately bombarded with a burning sensation all over the front half of my body. Oh, Arceus! Was this the afterlife‽ I didn't think I was bad enough to go to hell. I never did anything too bad. Maybe I was a coward, and maybe I was a little mean to Hilton sometimes, but come on. He did enough stupid things to deserve it! The heat faded and I opened my eyes.

The last wisps of flames disappeared from the air above us, remnants of a Flamethrower.

"Good job, Munchlax," Cenric called, standing in front of us and protecting us from the sneasel and her trainer. "Finish her off with Thunderbolt!" he called, and Munchlax gathered his power. Lightning struck from the ceiling, dark clouds still rolling above us. The white-hot bolt crashed down on the sneasel, knocking her out instantly. The Reliance grunt howled in rage, turning to look for reinforcements.

"Hey, guys," Cenric said, turning to us with a weak smile, "Long time no see."

In that moment he was the most beautiful human I'd ever seen. A pale, bruised angel. It would've been easy to direct all my anger at Reliance at the entire human race, but he was always there to prove me wrong. He was dripping wet, probably due to the miniature thunderstorm further down the street, raindrops collecting on his dark eyelashes. His eyes looked bloodshot and dark bags hung from them. His shoulder was slightly singed, and his T-shirt burned through. There was a dark bruise blossoming on his cheek, but there was a fire in his eyes, and a small smile flickering on his lips. If anyone could stop Reliance and save Claire, it'd be him.

"How'd you get out of prison?" Hilton asked.

"I wasn't in prison, they were just kind of keeping me around the police station until about twenty minutes ago when a rock went through the wall," he said, wiping the mix of water and sweat from his brow. "What happened to Noël?" he asked, glancing down at me in Hilton's arms and frowning in concern.

"Poisoned by—" but before Hilton could finish, an earthquake sent the humans to their knees, and Hilton almost dropped me in the process.

"Later," Cenric shouted over the roar. "Let's get to the Pokémon Center," he said, helping Hilton up. The two humans advanced down the side walk, Cenric guarding us from the side as best he could with his munchlax.

Dark storm clouds started to swirl above us, unnatural in their speed and intensity. Flashes of purple light emanated from the center, sending booming thunder short afterwards. The artificial storm filled the red sky with black, hovering so low that even the shortest buildings rose above it.

"Leavanny, use Leaf Storm!" another trainer called out, and a pair of Reliance grunts were thrown into our path by the barrage of leaves. They tried using their arms to shield themselves, but the vicious leaves just cut through their hoodie uniforms into ribbons, and left shallow cuts in their flesh.

"The admins won't pick up their Holo Casters!" one shouted, vainly tapping the device around his neck.

"They've abandoned us!" shouted the other, pulling his friend up. Still dodging the Leaf Storm, the pushed past us, almost sending Hilton toppling over.

"Leavanny, again!" called the trainer, who rushed past us with his pokémon. I caught the flash of chestnut hair as he passed.

A pair of Reliance grunts spotted us from across the street, pointing their pokémon in our direction.

Cenric stepped in front of us, commanded his munchlax to launch another flamethrower at the approaching pokémon. "You guys keep going!" he called over his shoulder. "I can hold them off!"

"We're not leaving you here!" Hilton argued back, stepped out from around Cenric and shouted commands for Drifloon. My world spun as Hilton jerked beneath me, taking steps forward and back as the battle progressed. Black started to encroach on my vision again, and I felt Hilton begin to move again. Did that mean we'd won?

Hilton glanced down at me, "Hold on, Ralts. We're almost there!" he whispered, but his voice sounded too high, probably due to my damaged hearing.

I closed my eyes, trying to filter out the pain. We fell into a sort of rhythm. He would run and every couple minutes or so, jerk forward or backwards to dodge a stray attack. I often heard them collide with the building or street. Sometimes the glass would shatter, raining down on the asphalt in a series of clinks. Trainers commanded their pokémon, who cried out in the heat of battle. A cold drop fell on my nose, and I opened my eyes slowly, staring up at the impenetrable wall of clouds. Another rain drop fell, landing on my tender stomach and sending shivers up my body. The air was growing hot and sticky as the cloud trapped the heat and humidity from escaping into the sky.

Hilton looked up at the sky and cursed, he was already breathing heavily now, and his lungs wheezed with every breath. He couldn't keep running for much longer, and even Cenric's gait was slow and uneven now.

A deafening crash that shook the entire city broke me from my coma-like state, and I jumped up, grabbing the front of Hilton's shirt. Everyone, Reliance, League and pokémon, paused. The lights on the buildings flickered once and went out.

Castelia City went dark.

The air was filled with angry groans and triumphant cries, though no one really knew who had knocked out the power.

"This way," Cenric murmured, leading us towards a group of trainers that were huddled together.

"Well, there goes the power grid," said the trainer closest to use, stepping closer to her timburr for protection.

"They must be at the power plant!" a woman cursed. Her long onyx hair was woven into two long braids that swung at her statement. Her outfit looked like some sort of exotic yellow bathing suit. Something about her seemed familiar, but I could put my finger on it. The adrenaline rush from the crash started to wear off and with it so did my newfound strength. I sank back into Hilton's arms, clutching my leg.

"What about the hospitals? The Pokémon Center‽" cried another trainer. "Without power they'll-‽"

The black-haired woman cut them off. "They have backup generators that should've kicked in, but the rest of the city doesn't. You guys, grab a few more strong-looking trainers, another gym leader would be ideal, and come with me. I might be able to start it back up again," she said, and they ran off towards the center of the city.

"I hope the Pokémon Center can still treat Ralts," Hilton muttered nervously, looking to Cenric in question.

"We've got to try," Cenric said, pushing his sweat-soaked bangs out of his eyes. By now Hilton's mask had long since slipped off his face, and swung limply from his neck. Pressed against his chest, I could hear his lungs work for each rattling breath.

"We've got to get moving. Reliance grunts could come through at any minute. If they really are cut off from the admins, they're probably even more dangerous than before," Cenric said, casting a wary glance down the smoke-filled street. "Without direction, they have a tendency to dissolve into brutes," he finished.

Hilton just nodded, not wasting breath. After several more moments of rest, we continued down the sidewalk with Cenric in the lead. The end of the street was in view, and beyond that the dark ocean stretched out into oblivion. More rain drops pelted us, and the cold water actually soothed my burning skin.

"Almost there, Ralts! Just hold on!" Hilton panted as we neared the building. It alone shone in the darkness, a beacon of hope in the chaos. Injured trainers and pokémon swarmed around the entrance, and predatory Reliance grunts attacked the mass from around the outside. Trainers shouted and screamed as they were attacked, trying even harder to push their way into the bursting Pokémon Center.

"This is awful," Hilton mumbled, slowing to a stop.

"It's a massacre!" Cenric spat, narrowing his eyes on the grunts preying on the injured trainers and pokémon.

"How are we going to get inside?" Hilton asked, pausing as he saw a small line of trainers sneaking into an alley behind the Pokémon Center. They didn't look like Reliance.

"You guys try to get in the back way," Cenric said, nodding his head towards the alley but keeping his eyes trained on the Reliance grunts.

"Don't your pokémon need healing?" Hilton asked, concern pushing his warped features together and down.

"I can't just watch this, I'll meet up with you guys inside," Cenric said, lip curling into a snarl as he led Munchlax towards the swarm of Reliance grunts.

Hilton opened his mouth to shout after Cenric, but after glancing down at me, he closed his mouth. With effort, he dragged his eyes away from Cenric, and hobbled towards the alley and the trainers trickling inside. Cautiously, Hilton followed them away from the chaos and ducked into the narrow passage. Near the back, hidden from the view of the street was a backdoor. The trainers crept inside, cradling their poké balls gingerly. Hilton mirrored their action, and cool air blasted us the moment we stepped in the door frame.

Hilton sighed in relief, standing there under the AC for a moment as it washed over his sweat-soaked body, all too soon he started moving again. I watched the scene play out through narrowed eyes; it was getting so hard to stay awake. He proceeded through dark empty halls, footsteps echoing down them. Everything sounded like it was underwater now. My hearing was getting worse. Normally these halls would've been full of trainers headed for their rooms for the night, but now they were deserted. I figured anyone who had pokémon was either out fighting or trying to get healed.

Hilton rounded a corner, and the hall was filled with bright warm light as it leaked through the glass door from the main Pokémon Center. Bodies pressed up against the door, but the trainers before us were already trying to squeeze their way in.

Hilton neared the door, watched the spectacle. Trainers pushed forward, spilling over onto the front desk. Frantic assistants ran back in forth handing out hundred of potions and status healers.

"Please, only take the strength of potion you need!" shouted Nurse Joy, stepping up onto the counter to address the roaring crowd. "We're almost out of hyper potions! Anyone who needs their pokémon fully revived please move to the left, anyone else, to the right!" she yelled, and the crowd made a half-hearted attempt to follow her commands.

"Reliance is eating us alive outside!" shouted an angry trainer, and yells of agreement followed. Hilton tried sliding open the door to enter the main room, but couldn't. A large carracosta was leaning against the door, and even a healthy Hilton wouldn't have been able to move it. He shifted me to one arm, and put his good leg against the wall to brace himself. With a hearty tug, the door slid open several centimeters, grinding against Carracosta's shell. Hilton stepped back, panting and utterly exhausted.

Trying a new tactic, Hilton stepped closer to the door. "Let us in! We need help!" Hilton called, but the sound the glass didn't eat was just consumed by the howling of the crowd. No one could hear us. Hilton opened his mouth to try again, but a large figure burst in the front of the Pokémon Center. Angry pokémon trainers turned to him, but their ire turned into awe. Whispers broke out among the crowd.

"He's one of the Elite Four!"

"That's Marshal! I recognize him!"

The muscular man pushed his way through the crowd over to the seating area and climbed on top of the couch.

"I've cleared the Reliance grunts from around the Pokémon Center," he announced. The crowd started to cheer, but he silenced them with a wave of his thick arms. "I need some of you, whose pokémon are still conscious, to come with me to the other Pokémon Center where it's less crowded!" he announced, and Nurse Joy looked so relieved she was going to cry. The trainers however, shuffled uncomfortably, unwilling to leave the safety of the Pokémon Center and risk the dangers of the streets just to get to another Pokémon Center.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," he said, crossing his arms so his forearms bulged. At that the trainers started to cheer again, and those with pokémon that could still walk headed for the exit, following Marshal.

"Thank you!" cried Nurse Joy. Marshal gave a little wave and exited the building. As people filed out, the carracosta shifted, allowing Hilton to slid the door open all the way and step through. I thought I saw Cenric slip inside the front door past the crowd, but I was having difficulty interpreting the slew of information my senses delivered.

Nurse Joy, still standing on the counter, cupped her hands to her mouth to address the smaller crowd. Finally, everyone could fit inside the Pokémon Center. "Okay, once again, anyone with conscious pokémon to right, unconscious to the left. Any humans that need minor healing, meet Jennifer in the back by the seating area! We'll be taking anyone serious injured to the hospital once Skyla gets back!" she ordered, and the crowd started to divide.

' _Once you drop me off, you need to get treated,'_ I said weakly. His shoulder was still bleeding from that glass shard, and heaven knows what that one attack had done to our ears.

He nodded, approaching the counter. The world started to fade to black and my senses started to numb. I felt myself being handed over, but all I wanted was to take a nice long nap.

Something cold sprayed my wounded leg, and at first I jerked away from it, but something held me down. It started to tingle, and I felt new skin starting to stretch over the burn. Energy returned to my body, and my eyes flickered open. One of Nurse Joy's assistants, held me down gently, spraying my wound with the last of a potion.

Pokémon naturally had a much faster healing rate than humans-it was one of the things that allowed us to participate in battle so frequently—and potions were simply a boost that gave us the energy to speed up the natural process. That was why potions had little to no effects on humans.

New energy shot down my limbs, and I curled my fingers and toes testing it out. I felt great! No, better than great! All my aches and pains from traveling were gone! The scrapes on my elbows and knees from being tossed off Hilton's shoulder? Gone! I hadn't been healed since I was separated from Claire, and Arceus was it a good feeling! I sat up, ready for action, and the assistant smiled, examining the rest of my body of remaining injuries.

She ran a hand over the back of my head and paused. "Is this from today?" she asked, staring at the back of my head. My elation died off as I realized she was talking about the cracks in my skull plate.

I shook my head, and she nodded knowingly. "It looks at least a week old. I don't think I can do anything about it. Maybe try coming back and seeing Nurse Joy once this is all over," she whispered, helping me up. I nodded sadly, already knowing there wouldn't be anything Nurse Joy could do.

"Where's your trainer?" she asked, scanning the crowd. Truthfully? I didn't know. Claire could be anywhere…but then again…maybe she was free now? Hope flickered to life inside my chest. If they were holding her captive in the sewers, she could've escaped in the chaos! Maybe she even had her other pokémon with her! With those excited thoughts my energy started to return again.

"Oh, it was the boy with the strange fa—I mean green hair," she said, quickly correcting herself. I didn't blame her. Right now Hilton's mutations were his most distinguishing feature. "He's over in the seating area," she said, lifting me off the counter and setting me on the ground.

I grinned at her in thanks, and rushed towards Hilton. He was nestled in the corner while Cenric tried to block him from the view of the others. Even so he was attracting a crowd of curious onlookers. A nurse had helped Hilton out of his dress shirt so she could bandage his shoulder. It was his exposed torso, more specifically the mutations on it, that was drawing the spectators. I glared at them as I passed. It was rude to stare!

Hilton whimpered as the nurse dug into the wound with her tweezers, pulling out a small shard of glass. "Got it," she said soothingly, dropping in into a nearby container. Hilton smiled upon seeing me. I climbed up his leg and crawled onto his lap as the nurse started to clean the wound. He winced in pain, so I did my best to distract him.

' _I wonder where Lawrence is,'_ I said, glancing outside. A flash of lightning and booming thunder answered my statement. I shivered, glad we had made it inside in time.

"No telling,"Hilton said, trying to smile.

The nurse placed a large square band-aid over the wound, carefully pressing the edges down. "It wasn't so bad once the blood was cleaned up," she commented, "it should be gone within a week or two," she said, stepping back. She spun around, and grabbing his shirt off the ottoman.

"Your shirt on the other hand…" she said, gesturing to the torn bloodied piece of fabric. Hilton took it back anyways, shrinking from the view of the onlookers. She sighed understandingly. "I think we might have a few extra shirts in back. Of course, if you don't mind that they say 'Castelia Pokémon Center' on the front," she said.

"That's fine," he said quickly.

"Alright then, I'll go grab the shirt and you take a seat by the door. Skyla and her pokémon have been ferrying people to the hospital, so it shouldn't be long before she's back and can take you," the nurse said.

Hilton looked stricken. "The hospital! Why? I thought you said the cut was no big deal!" he insisted. The nurse gave him a look, pointedly glancing towards his mutations. He didn't get the point.

"Just sit over there," she said with a sigh, vanishing into the depths of the Pokémon Center. I crawled up onto his bare shoulder, realizing that after all this time I'd been sitting on his bad shoulder. Thankfully the skin wasn't currently peeling off but…his skin felt unusually cold for a human. We really did need to get him to the hospital. Hilton grabbed his mask and hobbled over to the arm chair, wrapping his arms around himself self-consciously.

The nurse came back out and tossed him the rolled up shirt. He reached for it with his good arm, but it just bounced off his open hand and landed in his lap. He flushed, ducking his head so he didn't have to see the other trainers snickering at him. I hoped off of his shoulder onto the top of the armchair so he could slip into his new shirt. Cenric came over, helping Hilton into the T-shirt.

How were we going to tell Mr. Harrison we ruined his suit?

Hilton stared at his mask for a moment before sliding the elastic band around his head, letting it fall around his neck. Now fully clothed again, he sank back into his the cushy chair. "Now what?" he asked us softly, dark circles under his eyes.

Before I could answer, that chestnut-haired trainer walked in. Now that I thought lucidly again, I recognized him in an instant. Burgh! Castelia's gym leader. His healthy skin looked pale now, and his kempt hair hung limply at his shoulders from the rain. Leavanny trailed closely behind him with a series of black burns on his leaf armor showed the ware of battle.

"How's it going out there?" Nurse Joy asked, hurrying from out behind the counter. Lighting flashed again, and thunder shook the building.

Burgh sighed, putting a hand on the sofa to help support his weight. "It's difficult to say. We might be winning on one street, but loosing on another. There are just so many of them, Maureen," he said, messaging his temples. "Has Elesa checked back in?" he asked.

Nurse Joy shook her head with a frown. "Not since you last did. I saw Skyla recently heading for the hospital, and Marshal led a group of trainers to the other Pokémon Center about ten minutes ago. Does that help?" she asked.

"Not quite," the gym leader said with a tired smile. He pulled out a poké ball, withdrew Leavanny, and then handed it and five more poké balls over to Nurse Joy. She scurried off to heal his pokémon, and Burgh himself dropped onto the sofa, sighing again.

He lifted his wrist, exposing the green cross-transceiver strapped to it. He pressed the touch screen several times, and a ringing sound played out. Quickly he lowered the volume, but Cenric, Hilton, and I who were sitting quiet close, could hear the low ringing noise. It rang on and on, but no one answered. Burgh's bushy eyebrows pressed together in worry, and he tried calling again. Still, no one picked up.

I frowned at that. Cross-transceivers were wireless, so the power outage shouldn't have affected them. Could it be the storm? I glanced back outside, but the rain was already lessening, though because the sun had already set it didn't make much of a difference.

Nurse Joy returned with Burgh's poké balls, handing them to him carefully. After thanking her, he attached them to his belt. She turned to leave, but Burgh caught her arm.

"I need to go protect the gym, but I'm worried about Elesa. No one's seen her in a while, and she won't pick up her cross-transceiver," he said quietly. Nurse Joy gasped.

"When the next League member comes in, can you tell them that? Last we heard she was at the power plant trying to get things running again," he finished. Nurse Joy nodded grimly, and Burgh smiled. "Thank you for doing all this," he said, gesturing to the crowd of bandaged trainers and pokémon.

Nurse Joy smiled back. "I may not be able to fight very well, but I can help the people who can." Burgh thanked her again and disappeared into the night.

"I think we should go help," Hilton mumbled, staring out into the blackness.

"Hilton," Cenric warned.

' _Last time we went out there, we were destroyed!'_ I cried.

"Not to go battle Reliance grunts, but to go check on the power plant," he amended, looking between Cenric and me with hope flashing in his eyes.

' _Hilton, hospital'_ I said. Latios could force him to go, but he was probably soaked in the blood of Reliance grunts now and loving it.

"Noël's right, Hilton," Cenric said. "Reliance would love to recapture you," he added, which I suppose was a nicer way of saying 'you're a danger to yourself and others, and will only slow us down'.

"Fine, I'll go to the hospital," Hilton said rolling his eyes, and I started to grin, " _After_ this is all over," he added mischievously. I groaned. "Come on, Ralts! Let's go!" he said, pulling himself out of the chair, and grabbing me.

' _Hilton, no! You're gonna get us killed,'_ I moaned, as he set me on his shoulder. I swear, if we lived through the night without any permanent injuries, it'd be a miracle.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** See! I told you longer, more exciting chapters were coming! At least I hope it was semi-exciting? Anyways, so technically Castelia only has one Pokémon Center, but it seems about as big as Lumiose City-which has three—so I figure it's not a huge stretch to guess Castelia has more than one. So what do you think of Hilton's plan? Is it going to make things better or worse? How many more stupid decisions can Hilton possibly make before he gives Noël an aneurysm?

 **Fun Fact** : Cenric is an Anglo-Saxon names which means "fierce ruler"


	9. Familiar Faces

**A/N:** All around me are

 **Chapter 9: Familiar Faces**

 **(***)**

Lawrence broke through the layer of clouds he'd created. In his excitement, Rain Dance had gotten out of hand, and was sapping dangerous amounts of strength now. With a frustrated sigh, he cut his ties to the attack, letting the clouds broil freely. Without his power holding them together, they expanded, starting to dissipate.

There! His eyes zeroed on the fleeing Reliance grunts. He soared up into the night sky, letting the cool air bathe him and blow the water droplets off of him. The crescent moon cast limited light down on the world, hardly enough to see by, and with the power out in Castelia, the humans were practically blind.

Latios smiled fiercely, flying down so he was practically on top of the Reliance grunts and their golbat. He opened his mouth, ready to let lose a crushing Luster Purge, but stopped. Where were they going? He fully expected them to try and take refuge somewhere else in the city, but they were heading towards the desert to the north.

For a moment he considered blasting them out of the air anyways, but decided it would be more advantageous to follow them. They might lead him to a nest of the Reliance trash, and he could finish them once and for all. Plus, after the drain of Rain Dance and multiple Luster Purges, his strength reserve was running low. At this point, the more Reliance grunts he could take out with one move, the better.

Several more Reliance grunts joined up with the hoard below up, totaling five now. He scowled. Letting them roam free tested his patience. They soared above the desert on their pokémon, and for a moment Latios almost imagined he was back in Hoenn. He half expected a flock of flygon to come up and soar with him in the moonlight above the dunes. But this was Unova, and none did. Time passed as easily as the stars above and endless sand banks below him, and soon Castelia City was just a black tangle on the horizon behind him.

With his keen eyesight, he could make out the ruins hundreds of feet below and even a group of nocturnal sandile, scuttling around on the sand. Pushing off the nostalgia, Lawrence focused back on the fleeing Reliance grunts. They started a slow descent, headed for the north edge of the desert to the right of another bright city. Nimbasa, was it? Maybe if circumstances were different, he'd take the time to visit the vibrant city. He could take his sister…

Lawrence flashed back to reality, focusing in on the imminent danger a second too late. A violent beam of dark energy rammed into his chest, sending him spinning backwards. Lawrence growled in anger, and just as he managed to right himself another Dark Pulse clipped his wing, sending spiraling towards Earth. The dark-type attack sunk into his skin, draining his psychic energy at an expedited rate.

He raged to himself in mid-fall. How could he have been so blind! The Reliance grunts circled above like vultures. Snarling, he regained control of his flight, zooming up, trying to regain the high ground. The wind whipped by as he increased his velocity, but no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't reach half his maximum speed. He cursed his wastefulness of energy back in Castelia.

A razor-sharp crescent of air ripped across his back, causing an angry yell to escape his mouth. He'd kill them! He corkscrewed midair, dodging another Air Cutter, and flung himself around to face his attackers. He opened his mouth, ready to lose a Luster Purge and take care of the insignificant flies, when another Dark Pulse rammed up into his stomach, knocking the air out of him and blasting him into the sky. Very quickly, gravity took hold, pulling him down towards the unforgiving forest.

Latios's eyes flashed open, and he flipped over letting his wings create as much drag as possible to slow his descent. The legendary crashed through the trees, snapping branches. He smashed into the ground, bouncing once before coming to a rest.

He groaned, hot wrath building inside him, but he didn't have the energy to act on it. His stomach, wing tip, and chest felt cold from the dark energy eating his psychic power, but his back burned and stung where the Air Cutter hit. He was bleeding no doubt. Lawrence twisted his neck to watch the sky, and saw the flock of golbat closing in on him, dark shadows darting among the stars. He snarled. Did they know he was a Latios? Did they think he was just another run-of-the-mill pokémon confined by a trainer's will? Even if they didn't know who he was, they'd find out soon enough. As much as the reality burned his insides, he didn't have the strength to escape them.

The legendary managed to hoist himself up into the air using the remains of his psychic power. He closed his eyes, ignoring the golbat's screeches as they neared, and focused his energy. He let it envelop him, squeezing and constricting his form. His feathers tingled as taught skin stretched over them, and his bones cried out at they were bent and stretched into the shape of a human. Latios and Latias were only considered adults once they could manage a full human transformation. By all accounts Lawrence shouldn't have been able to for another eighty years, but after months confined in darkness at various Reliance compounds with only his mind to occupy himself, he'd learned a few interesting tricks.

Normally, young Latios learned to turn invisible before learning human transformation however his circumstances had put an end to normal, so try as he might, invisibility still eluded him. Not that he would admit that to anyone. But by Arceus it would've been helpful in times like this.

Lawrence-now disguised as a human-opened his eyes and dropped to the ground, rolling beneath a large conifer. Hopefully the golbat, honchkrow, and humans wouldn't be able to find him, especially when they were looking for a large pokémon, not a human child. He heard them shouting to each other, circling above his patch of woods. The trees rustled as a golbat swooped down low, barely twenty feet from where Lawrence hid. A large blast of wind blew the limber pine, sending branches to whack Lawrence in the face, as Golbat soared by. Lawrence, except for glaring at the tree branches, huddled perfectly still, crimson eyes scanning the dark sky through the leaves. He waited there for a long time underneath the tree, trying to filter out the rustling of leaves, pidoves cooing to each other, and the chirps of various bug pokémon. He felt something crawl onto his thigh and swatted it off with a jerk. He loathed his human form.

After several more minutes, it was clear the Reliance scum had given up looking by air, but they could still be in the forest. Rolling out from under the tree and pushing himself, he spun around slowly, examining the forest for his hunters. The bushes behind him shook, and he whipped around ready to defend himself.

A roselia sauntered out, catching the moonlight in the petals of her roses. Lawrence flushed hotly at his overreaction, glad no one important had witnessed it. After his shame had worn off, he bent down to face the roselia, glad to see a familiar species. She looked up at him curiously, wondering what the strange human was doing.

"Do the humans have a nest in these woods?" he asked.

"Yesss. They like to gather over thereee," she said slowly, making exaggerated gestures so the human could get the gist.

Latios rolled his eyes in annoyance, just because he couldn't speak pokémon in human form didn't mean he lost the ability to understand it. "Can you lead me there?" Latios asked, trying to remain calm.

The roselia frowned in confusion, opening her mouth to ask another question, but Lawrence interjected, "Yes,I can understand you.. Now. Take. Me. There," he hissed.

The roselia hmpf'ed, putting her hands on her hips and turning away. "You don't have to have an attitude about it. Humans. They think everyone owes them a favor," she muttered, sauntering off.

Lawrence reached out his hands to strangle her, but held himself back. No. Not here. There were witnesses. Grabbing fistfuls of his cerulean hair in frustration, Lawrence considered telling her his true identity, but figured an alternative way would be less of a liability and generate less questions.

With a deep breath, he tried to shove his irritation deep within himself, and walked towards the roselia. "Can you please take me to their nest?" he asked through gritted teeth. "It is a matter of life and death," he finished.

She eyed him skeptically and shrugged. "Yeah, I'll take you, but I can't take you all the way. Sometimes pokémon disappear around there," she said confidence falling to make way for nervousness as she shuffled from foot to foot.

Latios sighed. "That is acceptable, please just lead the way," he said, rubbing his throbbing temples.

The roselia shrugged again and started the trek through the woods. Lawrence, even in the body of a human child, had difficulty following her through the narrow paths and low-hanging trees. He suspected she'd taken him that way purposefully, but decided to redirect all of his rage towards Reliance once he found their base.

"Okay, we're here. Almost," she said, stopping. Latios surveying the surrounding woods, seeing no signs of the malicious humans.

She noticed his confusion. "Just keep going straight and you'll run into a rock face. That's where the door is. I'm pretty sure most of it is underground," she said, fidgeting.

Latios was about to question her further, when the crunching of dried leaves and sticks rang out. It was a clumsy sound undeniably human.

"Thank you!" he whispered to the roselia, shifting his attention towards the noise. She disappeared into the bush behind him, but he didn't even notice. Lawrence crept forward, spotting a pair of shadowy humanoid figures pushing their way through the foliage.

He circled behind them, carefully timing each of his steps to coincide with theirs, so any sound he made would be masked. He saw a small rock face appear through the trees, just as the roselia had said! It was barely ten feet tall, and about that distance across. There was an entrance to a secret base hidden there? Latios frowned, staying back in the tree line as the Reliance grunts entered the clearing. He could see their distinctive uniforms in the weak moonlight as they walked towards the rock.

The leader stopped, shoving his hand down the front of his hoodie and digging around for something. Flushing, he turned to his partner, explaining something in a quiet voice. She laughed a pulled out a necklace from under her hoodie. A small card was attached to the bottom. She ran it through an invisible slot, and all at once the shape of a door became visible. The grunts jumped backwards as the door swung out and upwards with a small whoosh. Lawrence, even with his sharp eyesight, could only see a black hole.

The grunts laughed to each other than stepped inside, disappearing down a hidden staircase. The door started to close. Lawrence had to make a decision! He made a run for it!

 **(***)**

' _How did we get lost_ _‽'_ I cried, throwing my hands into the air.

Hilton stopped in the middle of the empty street, rubbing his chin. By the large gouge marks in the road, broken glass, and smell of smoke, I guessed the battle had already come and gone here.

Cenric sighed, rubbing his temples, though his frustration was directed less at more and more at our situation. He said, "We asked that man twenty minutes ago and he said—"

"Just follow the power lines," Hilton completed. "And we did!" he insisted.

' _Then where's the power plant_ _‽'_ I asked. I swear we'd been going in circles for the last hour. Thankfully the rain clouds had dissipated, but since the sun had vanished it didn't make much of a difference. The thin moon was the only thing keeping us from walking straight off into the ocean. That, and Hilton's abnormally good eyesight. Or could it have been that my eyesight was the one going bad? Wasn't the seeing part of your brain in the back or something? Could it have been damaged in the fall too?

"Hey, what's that?" Hilton whispered, ducking into a doorway. Cenric followed suite, squinting into the darkness where Hilton's gaze was trained.

' _What? What is it?'_ I asked, trying to make sense of the murky shapes in front of us.

"There," Hilton whispered, pointing to the building in front of us. I narrowed my eyes trying to—there! Movement in the blackness! Was it a pokémon? Hilton gasped, pressing a hand to his mouth. "They're dragging someone inside!" he whispered frantically.

' _What? Who? Reliance?'_ I asked, finally able to separate the amorphous shape into three distinct figures.

"That looks like the girl from earlier!" Hilton whispered.

"We have to help," Cenric said, reaching for Munchlax's poké balls.

' _What girl?'_ I asked, looking from Cenric to Hilton.

"The one with black braids," Hilton answered, creeping forward and never taking his eyes of the spectacle. The Reliance grunts were lugging her body into what looked like a normal hotel.

Black braids…black braids…Oh! That girl! Suddenly, it all clicked. ' _Hilton! Cenric! That's Elesa! The missing gym leader!'_ I cried.

I heard Cenric release a sharp breath of air, and Hilton reached for Drifloon's poké ball.

' _Can we take two Reliance grunts?'_ I asked, remembering the toxicroak and shuddering.

The Reliance grunts vanished into the building, leaving the door swinging behind them. Cenric scowled and made a run for it and Hilton hobbled close behind.

"Go, Drifloon!" Hilton called as Cenric yanked open the door. The ghost-type materialized, wrapping his tails around Hilton's wrist just in time to be dragged inside. The cool lobby was almost pleasant compared to the hot, sticky air outside. I wondered how long that would last with the power out. Unfortunately, it was also much darker.

"Where'd they go?" Cenric growled, spinning around

"Let's try the elevator!" Hilton said, running forth in the blackness. He could still see‽ It was pitch black! I couldn't tell whether my eyes were open or closed!

He paused, and I assumed we were at the door. Before Hilton could press the button, a distant crash echoed from our left. I felt Hilton's shoulders tense beneath me.

"Munchlax, give us some light!" Cenric commanded, releasing his pokémon in a flood of crimson. Munchlax yawned, giving his trainer a bored look before illuminating the hotel lobby with a modest flamethrower. The shadows danced in the flickering light, leaving phantoms shapes playing the corners of my vision just beyond reach.

"I'll go check it out, you guys try the elevator," Cenric said, the sweat on his brow gleaming in the firelight.

' _Are you sure we should split up?'_ I asked nervously. Unlike Hilton, I was under no delusion that my own personal prowess had bested the Reliance grunts earlier. I— _we_ were lucky. If Cenric wasn't there, I have no doubt Hilton and I wouldn't have made it to the Pokémon Center.

"We need to save Elesa, so she can get the power back on," Cenric said seriously. "We don't have the luxury of staying together," he said, giving me a meaningful look. In exhaled in relief, but at the same time my stomach tightened. Of course the Reliance grunts made the noise. He was sending us away from danger. I wanted to object. I wanted to go with him! Could he really take them on by himself? But Hilton and I were so weak…we were practically liabilities. Was his decision both kindness and strategy?

Oblivious, Hilton just nodded. "Okay, we'll start checking floors. Oh, maybe they took her to the roof and they're going to stuff her in a helicopter," Hilton suggested, wide-eyed.

"Yeah, if I don't find anything, I'll meet back up with you guys, alright?" Cenric said, stepping towards the hall.

"Good luck!" Hilton called as Cenric and Munchlax rounded the corner, taking the light with them and plunging us back into darkness.

"To the roof," Hilton mumbled, stepping towards the elevator. I groaned inwardly. Couldn't we just take the stairs? Elevators were so…wait a second.

' _Hilton,'_ I called out, but he had already stretched his hand out in the darkness. Pressing a quarter-sized button with his index finger. It glowed orange, lighting our small patch of space.

"Yeah?" he asked absently, stepping back to watch the descending numbers over the elevator's entrance.

' _Shouldn't the power be out?'_

He paused, staring at me then slowly shifted his gaze back to the elevator. It dinged and the two doors split apart with a whoosh. The light from the inside of the elevator was blinding. I shielded my eyes, and Hilton took a step forward.

' _I'm not sure this is a good idea,'_ I said, fidgeting anxiously. My hands were starting to grow sweaty.

"You heard Cenric, we have to save Elesa," Hilton said resolutely, but I could hear the waver in his words. His mask swung silently around his neck. Without another word, he entered the elevator, and the door closed behind us. He stared at the panel of buttons for a minute, searching to see if there was a button for the roof. There wasn't, or at least it wasn't marked, so Hilton picked the very top. Level 52.

I closed my eyes as the metal box rocketed upwards, but that just made it worse. Since Drifloon was floating, did that mean she could feel it? The sound of Hilton grinding his teeth convinced me to open my eyes. I turned to him curiously.

"We're going to get Claire back," he said with fist clenched. "We're going to get her pokémon back, and Elesa too, and all the pokémon they've stolen, and all the trainers they've kidnapped."

I nodded. This new fury was far more infectious than his faux-determination from earlier. They'd hurt so many people and pokémon. It was personal now. We were going to win. Cenric and the League would take care of them. The elevator slid to a stop. The door binged and slid open, revealing a lit hallway that lead to a single door.

Hilton stepped out, looking for a way up to the roof. It appeared the door in front of us was our only option. With a deep breath, Hilton ripped the door open.

It was a dark conference room, with a wall of windows to our right. From the light in the hall behind us we could see the front end of a long conference table, and several empty chairs. But in the back darkened half, I caught brief moment. Staring, I could make out several human-shaped silhouettes seated at the darkened end of the conference table. A single tablet resting on the center of the table cast a faint blue glow, catching on their arms and torsos, but I couldn't make out faces.

We were most certainly not alone.

A woman stepped out of the gloom and into the light of the elevator; her pale skin almost glowed in it. I gasped.

' _That's the lady who captured me, you and Claire! The one Cenric told Maylene about!'_ I cried to Hilton. _'She's the leader of Reliance! She's Cyan!'_ I hissed. This was bad. Claire couldn't even beat her. Very very very bad. The hot anger burning inside my chest was snuffed out and replaced with cold clammy fear in the pit of my stomach.

Hilton, however, had the reverse reaction. I could feel his skin radiating heat as he grew hot with anger.

"What did you do to Claire and Elesa!" he shouted, taking a step towards her. Cyan didn't react to his advance. She just slowly turned her head to face the blackness as if in question, her platinum blonde hair fell over her shoulder as she turned. I noticed a large near-black bruise on the underside of her jaw, and secretly hoped someone on our side had given it to her.

"My my, what's this?" came a smooth male voice from the inky darkness.

"Looks like one of yours," replied a bored female voice.

"Hmm. An obvious failure. A very early test subject by the looks of it," he replied thoughtfully.

"Or just shoddy science," she quipped.

"Now, now, not in front of our guests," said a third, harsher female voice. "Cyan!" the voice snapped, "I thought you were on security duty. Is this what secure looks like to you?" she barked. Cyan didn't respond.

"I hope not. Otherwise we're doomed," laughed a third female, and several others chuckled at that. Just how many people were in here‽

"Don't you have a database for this, Colress?" whined the first female voice.

The man sighed, and a second small screen lit up in the darkness, illuminating his face and reflecting off of his glasses.

"Just look for a fat kid and a ralts," said a man, laughing.

Hilton took a step back, swallowing hard.

"Cyan!" snapped the angry woman, "go check the rest of the building to make sure no more flies got in. I trust even you can manage a task that simple!" The other adults laughed at that, but Cyan didn't respond. Without a glance in our direction, she passed up us for the elevator.

"Found him," called Colress. "Low priority seviper fusion performed last week in the Sinnoh base by Sunyshore. That was also one of the bases breached," he said, shutting off the screen, so he was encased in darkness again.

"You're a little far from home, aren't you" said the harsh voice with a hint of amusement.

"G-Give back Elesa! A-and all the trainers and pokémon you've kidnapped!" Hilton said, trying to be strong.

The group of people just laughed at that. Hilton shrunk under their mockery. Maybe if he could stall a little longer Cenric would come! Or at least call for help!

"Well, I suppose I should take care of him," said the harsh voice, and I heard the sound of a chair being pushed back.

"No, Commander, allow me," said another male voice, quiet and smooth. I didn't think I'd heard him speak yet, but it was all so confusing now. A second chair was pushed out and a dark shadow approached us.

An adult man stepped into the light, pale in his grey dress-shit. The only thing extraordinary about him was his shocking blue hair styled in to horns.

"Saturn! Team Galactic?" Hilton gasped, taking another step back. Sweat glowed on his forehead. My hands started to shake so I wrapped them in his shirt to steady them.

Saturn smiled at Hilton's fear. "Not quite. Team Galactic has been disbanded for years, but as luck would have it I found another place where my skills could be of use. Go, Toxicroak!" he shouted, releasing an ultra ball into the air.

' _Oh, Arceus! Not again!'_ I screamed, cowering behind Hilton's head as the poison frog materialized. This one looked twice as strong as the one that had almost killed us! Even with the type advantage, we didn't have a prayer!

Hilton backed up to the elevator door, and Saturn and Toxicroak followed us. Hilton banged on the button, but the elevator wouldn't open. Realizing it was pointless, Hilton turned back to Saturn.

"Please, Noël. You're the only chance we have," Hilton whispered, voice shaking.

' _I can't! I'll die!'_ I screeched, clambering on top of his head to get further away from that venomous monster. The people back in the conference roomed laughed at us.

"Toxicroak, Poison Jab!" called Saturn, crossing his arms easily and leaning against the wall. The toxicroak grinned, and the vicious hooked claws on her hands started to glow purple.

Hilton dove to the side, causing me to fly off his head and hit the wall. The world flashed black and white, then the network of sparks started to invade my vision again, tingling and spiking down my spine.

"Drifloon, use Gust!" I heard Hilton call, but the world was spinning too fast for me to focus on anything.

I heard Saturn laugh and something heavy collided with the wall near me that sent tremors through the floor.

"No! Drifloon!" Hilton cried. Holding my head in a futile attempt to right the world, I rolled over, facing the battle scene. Toxicroak had only grazed the side of Drifloon's bulbous body, but that was enough. He lay unconscious, cradled in Hilton's arms. Toxicroak herself was facing the wall, trying to tug her claw out of the drywall. She ripped her hand free, causing a shower of white dust to erupt from the wall. Her claws started to glow again, and she turned towards Hilton.

' _Move!'_ I shouted, but Hilton had his back turned to me and the imminent danger. He looked up at the sound of my telepathy, searching for me. Toxicroak raised her arm above him, mere inches away from his exposed back.

' _Move!'_ I screamed again with such force the back of my head exploded with power. The world went white, and I felt that strange squeezing sensation. The air was sucked from my lungs, and I thought I would suffocate! Something snapped and I dropped on to something warm and soft.

It groaned, and I realized it was Hilton. What? How had that-?

"Hehe, looks like the flies have tricks," said a rough voice in my ear. I screeched, jumping off Hilton and tumbling back onto a hard wooden surface. Shadowy figures loomed over me on all sides. We had been transported on top of the conference table!

"Need some help Saturn? That big scary ralts might beat you," called a cold female, breaking into laughter at the end. Back in the hall, Saturn scowled, storming back towards the room with his toxicroak in tow.

Several pairs of hands pulled Hilton off the coffee table, dropping him on the floor. I ran after him, jumping down into the darkness. I landed on my knees so hard it brought tears to my eyes, but I ignored the stinging pain, running for Hilton.

Toxicroak's claw started to glow violet again in anticipation for another Poison Jab. The people seating around the table nearby backed their chairs up.

"Watch it, Saturn!" called the female voice from a moment ago.

"You wouldn't be scared, would you, Shelly?" Saturn teased, but all the same he gave his toxicroak a meaningful look. Hilton scrambled up, trapped between the deadly pokémon and the conference table.

Oh, Arceus! He really was going to die now! I froze in horror as Toxicroak lifted her thick arm again, ready to plunge it into Hilton's flabby torso. At the last minute Hilton darted to the right, trying to escape around Saturn and the Toxicroak and make it back to the elevator. However the mutations that had given him the permanent limp were damning. The toxicroak caught up easily, letting Hilton wear himself out on his dash for the elevator.

I ran after them without a plan. I had to do something! Anything! Because I came at them from a diagonal I just managed to catch up with toxicroak. Blindly, I threw myself at her leg, clinging on tight.

Her iron hand came down and swatted me off like a bug, sending me rocketing across the hall. The back of my head rammed into the metal door frame, and my power went wild! I dropped to the floor but didn't even feel it. All I could see was white! Tendrils of free power sparked and wrapped around me pulling and tugging, trying to tear me apart! My own power was going to kill me instead of toxicroak!

It pulled and stretched at my limbs, and I could feel my very bones being morphed by the lawless power. Everything tingled and stung. I writhed on the floor, wishing death would come sooner. Angry screams escaped my lips, but I couldn't even hear my own voice.

All at once, it ceased. My vision flashed back, and only phantom tingles surged through my limbs. I lied there in a shuddering heap. Too weak to move.

"Well, look at that, Colress. Have you ever seen that before?" said a voice from the conference room in jest.

"No, I actually haven't," Colress said seriously. "Saturn, don't damage them too badly! I want to run some tests after this," he called.

I opened my eyes slowly, and wherever I tried I focus the world warped and spun. I made out Hilton, trapped in the corner by the elevator again. Toxicroak had him pinned now, and was just enjoying watching Hilton quake. The mutated boy cradled his limp left arm, and I could see a dark stain blooming from his shoulder.

"When is this going to end‽" I cried, pushing myself up. I froze, glancing back down at my arm. Screaming, I jumped back and the appendage followed. That wasn't my arm! And those weren't my legs! What had my powers done to me! I'd been hideously mutated without Reliance's help at all!

Wait a minute…

I reached up, feeling my altered skull cap. My horns had shifted to the sides and there was this thick boney growth that extended down…I sat dumbstruck. I hadn't mutated. I had evolved!

"Since when does being slammed into a door constitute grounds for evolution‽" I shouted to the ceiling at Arceus. This was insanity!

Switching my attention back to Hilton, I extended my hand, trying to force my remaining power. It receded from my psychic touch, hiding deep within my skull.

"Not now you don't!" I growled, grabbing it forcefully and projecting it towards Toxicroak. My psychic energy swirled around the pokémon barely strong enough to lift her off the ground and drop her several feet back. I released Confusion, panting, and crumpled to the floor. Evolution had drained me. Whatever happened from now on, I couldn't stop.

Snarling the toxicroak turned on me.

"Remember, minimal damage!" Colress called, but Saturn just waved him off, watching his pokémon approach me.

"Bad move," the toxicroak whispered to me, grinning.

"Actually my first bad move was getting out of bed this morning," I said dryly, resigned to my fate.

Her claw started to glow again, but once I had accepted my death all the fear had worn off. "Is Poison Jab the only move you know? 'Cause that's the only one you've been using," I commented. Could she just get it over with?

"No!" cried a strangled voice and Hilton ran up behind her with tears in his eyes. His injured arm waved lifelessly behind him, but his mutated arm…My eyes widened. His index and middle finger glowed violet! What was going on! Hilton threw himself on Toxicroak's back stabbing her with his fingers. My jaw dropped when he managed to break flesh.

"That's impossible…" I whispered.

The exertion proved to be too much for Hilton. He fell off Toxicroak's back and collapsed on the floor in a heap, unconscious. The toxicroak turned her attention towards me. Gasping, I closed my eyes and let my head hit the floor, pretending to be unconscious. It wasn't very difficult. Staying conscious was about all I had energy for anyways.

"Toxicroak, return!" called Saturn, and I fell the air shift as her large body was removed.

"A very interesting fight, wouldn't you say?" said the harsh voice.

Colress hummed in agreement. "Perhaps not as much of a failure as I originally thought," said he said thoughtfully.

I heard the elevator bing, and the doors whoosh open. Someone stepped out.

"I found another," said the monotone voice of the blonde woman from earlier.

"Let go of me!" Cenric snarled, and my heart sank. I dared to open my eyes just a sliver. Cyan stepped out of the elevator, and two grunts followed behind dragging Cenric with them. The black-haired ex-grunt glared daggers into Cyan's back as she dragged himself across the hall.

His eyes scanned the dark conference room, squinting in the darkness. Upon finding us, he let out a strangled cry.

"If you killed them, I swear I'll—" Cenric spat, but Colress's voice cut him off.

"Oh, we have _far_ too much money invested in them for that, rest assured," he said smoothly from the shadows. At that Cenric broke away from his captor's grip, lunging towards us.

Saturn's toxicroak slammed into him, sending him flying back into the wall. Cenric hit the floor and was silent. I bit my tongue so hard that I tasted blood. It was all I could do to keep from screaming.

"Ah, Cyan, perfect timing! We have a mess for you to clean up," the harsh woman said. "Where do you want them, Colress?" she asked.

"Any of the Johto or Kanto bases are equipped to handle them," the scientist responded.

The older woman sighed. "Very well. Cyan," she ordered, "Take the failed experiment and his kirlia to the base in Lostlorn and tell the grunts to have them ready for transport in the next twenty-four hours."

"And the other?" Cyan asked in regards to Cenric, sounding bored.

"He's bleeding pretty profusely. I don't think he can wait twenty-four hours," chimed a nasally female voice.

The other woman sighed, before saying, "Well, then have some grunts take him to Dr. Walker. I'm sure he's still up," to which several others murmured in agreement.

"Is that clear, Cyan?" the harsh-voiced woman asked.

There was a silence. "Yes, Commander," Cyan said dully, voice raw from disuse.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" the Commander snapped, and I heard Cyan move again.

"You can borrow my crobat," Saturn offered, and I heard the sound of a pokémon being released. Her winged beat at the air, stirring up a small wind.

A strong psychic power lifted me off the ground, and floated me towards what I assumed was the elevator. My mind screamed as my insides twisted into knots. The door opened with that familiar bing, and I felt Crobat slip inside with us. My heart beat in my ears, as the elevator binged again, sliding close. This couldn't be happening! Not again!

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, where were we?" the Commander asked as the doors slid shut.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** If you guessed last chapter that Hilton's plans (predictably) were going to make things worse, congratulations! Our three heroes are bleeding out and recaptured! Good thing they told someone where they were going beforehand, oh wait….

Critique equals love~

 **Fun Fact** : Many many many years ago Cyan wasn't evil and actually was a main character.


	10. Desert Tango

**A/N:** This and the last chapter used to be the same, but I decided not many people care enough to read 8.5k words in a sitting, so here we are.In other news, Dragon Age Origins was supposed to come in the mail today but didn't. So now I'm just hungry and angry, and I may or may not get a pizza.

 **Chapter 10: Desert** **Tango**

 **(***)**

Lawrence crept down the dark stairs, vaguely wondering what his plan was now. Maintaining the human guise absorbed the last of his energy reserved, so at this point, unless he found a spare hyper potion lying around, Reliance's end wouldn't come in the form of a Luster Purge. No... he had to find some other way to sabotage their plans.

He reached the bottom floor which thankfully was lit by naked light bulbs bolted to the concrete walls.

He stole down the hallway, hypersensitive to any sounds that might herald the approach of Reliance agents. His stomach and chest still throbbed from the Dark Pulses, and he knew his back was still bleeding from Air Cutter. The only real difference is now that he was in human form, his elbow ached instead of the tip of his wing. A particularly strong wave of pain came over him, and he cursed under his breath.

"When I escape from this, I will teach myself a healing move," he mumbled through gritted teeth.

Even with the barest of psychic powers, he could still feel the psyches of the humans and pokémon trapped behind the doors he passed. He wanted to help them, and he would, but if he tried freeing them one at a time he'd be caught in an instant. No… he needed something big. He needed a distraction. But what would be big enough?

Before he could mull over the question the sound of conversation echoed down the hall. Lawrence looked around frantically for a hiding place. Seeing none, he decided to try the nearest door. Praise be to Arceus! It was unlocked! He jumped inside, closing it as quietly as possible.

It smelled acrid and so chemically it made his eyes water and nose sting. A mop fell on his head in the darkness, and in surprise he jumped back, stepping right into a mop bucket of cold, presumably dirty, water.

Lawrence seethed silently, keeping his foot emerged in water for fear of making even more noise taking it out.

"I've heard Castelia's a madhouse! Thank Arceus we started evacuating last week," said one of the grunts. Lawrence listened curiously, momentarily forgetting his sore head and soaked foot.

"You think they'll make it here?" another asked worriedly.

"Nah. There's a desert between us, and no way any of those guys will spill the beans," the other said dismissively. Their voices grew fainter as the continued down the hallway. Once he couldn't hear them anymore, he slowly withdrew his foot from the bucket, setting it down with a sickening squash.

He searched the walls blindly for a switch, but ended up getting hit in the head by something small and hard. Growling, he swatted at it, finding it was some sort of hanging chain. In a last aggravated action, he yanked on it, and a light switched on.

Oh…

Looking around, Lawrence saw that he was indeed inside a broom closet, and the suffocating smell was coming from the shelves lined with chemical cleaners behind him. He was about to reached for the doorknob when his scarlet eyes landed on a peculiar red box that held a white lever in the middle. His eyes shifted upwards to read the label at the top.

'Fire Alarm'

He smiled wickedly. Oh, yes. That would do nicely.

So he yanked the lever down, and all hell broke loose.

A siren blared right above him, causing him to jump and stumble back, tripping on the lid of the bucket and falling back into the bucket of dirty water. He shouted in frustration above the siren's whine, and pulled himself out. He gave the bucket a kick for good measure, but just ended up hurting his toes. His butt was soaked now too. Oh, it'd be a while until he lived this one down.

Angry yelling and a stampede of footsteps boomed down the hall, and he could see red lights flashing from the cracks in the door.

"Everyone, emergency evacuation protocol! You know the drill!" shouted a voice above the clamor.

Once the pandemonium seemed to be at its peak, Lawrence kicked the door open, joining in the race for the stairs. It seemed all the Reliance grunts were too worried about saving their own skins or keeping prisoners in-line to notice a dripping child bursting out of the maintenance closet.

The sirens wailed on, and the crimson light bathed the hallway. He frowned, pushing through a throng of grunts.

"Hey, who's in charge of that kid!" shouted the grunt behind him. Lawrence just ran faster, weaving in and out of grunts just to get closer to the exit. He could see the moon! A rough hand grabbed his shoulder, but Lawrence dove to the side, shaking it off. Hands grabbed for his shirt, and he made the last jump to freedom.

The warm summer air blew in his face. Tantalizing freedom! A bolt of electricity shot past his face, burning his ear and destroying a tree in front of him.

Latios cursed, and vaulted over the tree, turning back to see several Reliance grunts in pursuit. Lawrence laughed wildly, increasing his speed. He had managed to free at least some of the captives! And as a bonus he'd probably ruined most of the grunts' evenings from which he took a sick, decisive pleasure.

He ran into the woods, feeling electric and alive. The bird cooed, the leaves rustled in the wind, and the Reliance grunts threw angry curses from behind him. It was, despite his initial failures, a wonderful night.

(***)

"Where's Claire! What have you done to my Snookums?" Hilton groaned, facing the night sky. "Love of my life. The apple to my worm. The…" he continued mumbling on, but I blocked him out for the sake of my own sanity.

He'd remained unconscious for most of the flight while he rested on Crobat's back. Cyan rode on a xatu, who held me in her claws along with Drifloon. Unfortunately, when Hilton did regain consciousness, he did so quite violently and rolled right off Crobat's back. Crobat was an adept flyer and managed to grab Hilton before he reached to gory conclusion to any 1,000-foot drop into the desert.

That incident caused our premature landing. Cyan judged it would be safer to go on foot from now on. Now Hilton was draped over her swampert with only enough energy to complain and moan on deliriously. I laid on top of swampert's head, still pretending to be unconscious and taking glances at the scenery through narrowed eyes.

I could see the edge of a black tree line nearing ahead. Hadn't the lady said something about Lostlorn Forest? Was that it?

A pair of humans broke from the woods running towards us. By now I'd stopped hoping anyone was going to rescue us, and I was right. The two teens ran up to us, the moon reflected off the sweat on their brows. Cyan gestured for Swampert to stop, and she waited for the two to catch their breath. One had bright red hair, while the other had dark skin and a pair of shades nested in his purple hair.

"We had to evacuate the base," said the red-head, regaining his breath while the other was still left doubled-over and gasping for breath.

"What?" asked Cyan, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Someone pulled the fire alarm, so we had to evacuate. We were outside and some of the prisoners escaped," Red-head said, glancing at Hilton, who was obviously listening.

Cyan opened her mouth to respond, but the red-head cut her off by stepping forward. He lifted his hand gently to touch her jaw, but thought better of it at the last minute. She blinked, a question in the simple action.

"The bruise," the red-head said, face darkening. He clenched his fist. The other man put a hand on the red-head's shoulder to calm him.

"Leave it alone," the other man said. The red-head jerked his shoulder out from under the other's hand, walking a few steps away and leaving his back to us.

"I will go with Alimer, and we will hunt for them," Cyan said. The red-head turned at what I guessed was the mention of his name. His continence seemed to brighten again at this new arrangement. "Palmer," Cyan said, turning to the other man, "Is the base secure now?"

Palmer straightened himself, finally able to breathe normally. "Yes," he said with a sigh, "We're just missing a few people."

Cyan nodded once. "Take this boy and his pokémon back to the base," she said.

Palmer glanced at Hilton and I, assessing our strength, then turned back to Cyan. "Take Swampert with you. My pokémon should be enough," he said. I wondered if I should be insulted by that.

Cyan nodded again, unclipping an ultra ball from her belt and recalling Swampert. The water beast vanished beneath us, and we fell into a pile on the sand, moaning. The pale woman released her xatu again, crawling onto its back. She gestured for the red-head to climb on Saturn's crobat, and soon they vanished into the night.

The new man, Palmer, surveyed our pitiful heap. A strong wind blew, and started to carry Drifloon across the sand. Palmer trekked after Drifloon, stepping firmly on his tails to stop her unintentional escape, then bent over to grab her.

Hilton jerked up and lunged towards Palmer, sending me rolling down a dune in the other direction. I managed to stop myself in time to see Hilton stabbing Palmer in the leg with his fingers. He jerked out his hand, and even though it was coated in dark liquid, I could still see his index and middle finger glowing dim purple in the moonlight.

Palmer shouted in pain, collapsing onto the sand and grasping at his leg.

"Come on, Noël!" Hilton said through labored breaths, somehow managing to get up on his feet.

Palmer sat up, a furious and pained expression on his face. He dug through the inside of his trench coat, but I already knew what he was about to do!

"No!" I shouted, trying to cast another Confusion before he could reach for his pokémon. My head crackled, filling my vision with white again and tossed me into the air.

I fell head-first into the sand and groaned, clutching my spinning head. How come whenever I tried to use attacks these days I just ended up hurting myself? That business had to stop. I pushed myself out of the sand, shaking the excess off and looked around for Palmer.

He wasn't there. Hilton spun around, equally confused. Had he managed to release one of his pokémon? I swallowed nervously. If that were true, he was probably off to get reinforcements, and they'd be here soon.

' _Hilton, we should probably find a place to hide,'_ I said, but just as I finished that sentiment, another figured emerged from the tree line. They were here already! I tried to get to my feet, but every time I did my thin legs gave out from under me. I cursed this new body. So far it seemed to come with a lot more problems than benefits.

' _Hilton, we've got to go!'_ I said dragging myself towards him and clinging to his torn dress pants. He ignored me, standing frozen and staring towards the newcomer.

I followed his gaze and stared at the figure, trying to make out details in the dusky light. I saw a choppy messy of brown hair. My jaw went slack and my stomach leapt.

Claire.

As soon as she saw who we were, she started to run towards us, but we were both too stunned to move. She must've been one of the people who escaped from the base like Palmer said! Hot tears spilled out from my eyes, mixing with the sand stuck to my face, but I didn't care.

She ran up to us, scooping down mid-stride and grabbing me off the warm sand.

"Noël!" she cried, holding me close. Tears blurred my vision and I threw my arms around her neck, breaking into full on sobs.

' _I-I missed y-you s-so m-much,'_ I sobbed, burying my face into her neck. I felt something hot and wet land on my skull plate, and looked up to see Claire crying too. She smiled past her tears, hugging me even tighter.

"Claire?" came an amazed whisper from behind us. Claire looked up to stare a Hilton, wiping the tears from her eyes. Gently, she set me down on the sand and walked towards him.

"C-Clairey-kins?" Hilton asked, bottom lip trembling.

Laughing, she threw her arms around him, giving him his first consensual hug. "Oh Hilton!" she said, still holding him in her embrace. "I heard about everything you did to save me and Cenric," she said tearfully, leaning back to smile at him.

"C-Cenric?" Hilton asked, sniffling.

She nodded, hugging him again. "Yeah, he's right behind me. Don't worry. What you did for me…it really means a lot," she said quietly into his shoulder.

Hilton smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "It's because I'm in love with you," he said, laughing and as tears dripped down his face.

"You know what?" I heard her whisper, "I love you too," she said, turning to kiss him on the cheek. I watched his expression turned from bliss to confusion. Claire withdrew, and Hilton sunk to his knees, clutching at the side of his neck with both hands.

He looked at her with wide eyes, eyebrows knit together in confusion, and fell onto his side. Claire stepped forward again and crouched by his head. She leaned down, looking like she was about to give him another kiss, but she turned to whisper into his ear.

" _Not_."

Hilton frowned, green eyes scanning her furiously, trying vainly to understand. I saw something shine in the moonlight behind her back, and she moved her hand to show Hilton. A metallic syringe glinted. I stumbled back, falling onto the sand. W-what was going on‽

Claire jumped back to her feet, laughing. Another figure stepped past me to stand next to Claire. I gasped, head spinning. Cyan was back, and she was smiling! It was a wicked, Cheshire grin that stretched her face in unnatural ways.

Claire continued to laugh, poking Hilton with her boot. "Is that really what you expected me to say‽ You haven't changed at all! You're just as disgusting as ever!" she cackled hysterically, leaning on Cyan for support.

"She was quite grateful to us for freeing her from you," Cyan said, crossing her arms and lifting her chin high in arrogance. "She practically begged to join us."

Claire shrugged with a grin. "It's true. Life without you in is just so…" Claire waved her hands in the air, trying to find to find the right word.

"Satisfying? Freeing?" Cyan supplied.

"Exactly," Claire said, "Thank you, Cyan."

"C-Claire?" Hilton croaked, still paralyzed on the ground. I was too stunned to do anything. It was all too surreal!

Claire ignored Hilton's plea, but he persisted. "Claire, You love me…We love each other…" he said, voice hoarse.

Claire flinched at that, repulsed at his appeal. "Love? Love‽ You nauseate me!" Claire cried. "You always have! Just being in the same room with you makes me want to shower! You're just a revolting, fat, dirty, pathetic, underachieving waste of space," she spat, voice growing low. "And the worst part?" she whispered, crouching down again. "Everyone knows it except you!" she shouted, standing back up and glaring at him in biting contempt.

Hilton reached up weakly, touching her leg, silent tears flowing down his cheeks. She jerked back violently, upper lip curling in scorn. Clouds rolled in front of the moon, suffocating out the last bit of light. The world started to spin again and I felt my head starting to throb.

"Just die," I heard her whispered in blackness, and then consciousness slipped out of my grasps.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** :0 (Imma go get my pizza) Thoughts? Fears? Is Lawrence having too much fun? Possibly.

Reviews please! Let me know I'm not talking to a void?

 **Fun Fact** : The past 29.7k of this story took place in one day. That means 47.58% of this story up to this point pretty much happened during one 24-hour period.


	11. Cenric

**A/N:** Useless status update: I got my angry pizza—which was delicious—and got my game the next day. And now for something completely different.

 **Chapter 11: Cenric**

 **(***)**

Cenric opened his eyes, blinking away tears from the swirling lights that spotted his vision. The speckles coalesced into a single, blinding disk directly above him. It made his eyes ache, so he turned his head to the side, staring into the dark expanse. Strands of hair lodged themselves in his eyes from the movement, but when he reached to push them out of his face couldn't move his wrist. He jerked at his wrist again, but it wouldn't move. It felt like a bracelet? Something clicked in Cenric's head, and suddenly everything felt colder. Not a bracelet. Restraints.

Experimentally, he tugged as his feet, finding them in the same condition. Fear bubbled up in his stomach, clawing at his throat and trying to force a scream. Cenric suppressed it as best he could, trying to worm his fingers out. The restraints were too tight and wouldn't budge an inch.

He looked around, starting to panic. The bright overhead light was keeping his eyes from adjusting to the blackness that surrounded him. The room smelled chemical, but there was a disquieting sweet scent of an aftertaste.

Cenric swallowed, trying to get the taste out of him mouth. His eyes widened. He tasted blood. His entire body ached, and his head pounded, but…? He frowned again in confusion. His stomach just felt tingly and numb. He shifted a little, bare skin brushed against the cool metal surface the restraints strapped him to. He shivered, becoming keenly aware he wasn't wearing a shirt. He could still feel his pants, but why no shirt? Goose bumps stretched his skin taught as another round of shivers wracked his frame.

He lifted his head as best he could, violet eyes trailing down his exposed torso until they stopped on his stomach. He froze.

"That's a lot of blood," he whispered, mesmerized by the sight of his bright red abdomen. Suddenly the room spun and blackness ate at the corners of his vision. He rested his sweating head back down on the table and breathed deeply, eyes pressed closed. This was bad. Whatever drugs they put him on were working since he couldn't feel any pain, but that much bleeding was _not_ good.

How in the world had he gotten that? He didn't rem—Oh…Castelia. Hilton. Noël. Cyan. Memories rushed into his throbbing head of a burning city, missing gym leaders, and dark hotel hallways. Wait! His pokémon! They-! They'd been taken from him after his initial capture. His insides clenched, tying themselves into sick knots. Once Reliance took away a trainer's pokémon, they never came back. Even older memories surfaced in his head from a week ago before his defection. He'd been in the process of planning his escape, but he couldn't let any of the other grunts know. They asked him to take her pokémon away. He didn't want to, but they were watching. All eyes, watching.

A looming-figure shattered his recollection. A middle-aged doctor wearing a surgical mask and long blue robe pressed two fingers to an earpiece, speaking into empty space, "He's awake."

"What are you doing to me?" yelled Cenric, twisting and writhing under the leather restraints.

"Trying to fix you," the doctor said in a mildly annoyed voice.

"Fix me‽" Cenric sputtered, "You're experimenting on me!"

An artery throbbed in the surgeon's neck, "I haven't had enough coffee for this," he growled, storming out of the room. Cenric watched him leave, the white light from the hallway lit the room for a second, before the door slid shut. There was his way out. Cenric worked at the restraint on his right wrist. If he could just get one hand out-!

"I'd stop that if I were you," said a cool voice. Cenric jumped at its proximity. A woman stood just in the gap between light and darkness. Cenric was sure she hadn't been in the room before, but that could only mean she snuck up on him.

"I bet you'd like that wouldn't you," spat Cenric, struggling even more violently.

"You'll pop your stitches," she said, taking a step forward into the light. Her face had deep rivets, crow's feet and frown lines. Signs she hadn't taken ageing well. Her eyes were hard and calculating, but in the light it was impossible to tell the color. She wore an unfamiliar black uniform, pristine and crisp in its presentation. Her long white-blonde hair maintained equal control with not a strand daring to move out of place. She stood upright, chest out and hands clasped behind her back militarily. This was a woman who knew what she wanted and was perfectly capable of getting it. There was something about her presence that was more frightening than the doctor.

"I won't be your next science project!" Cenric shouted, as phantoms images of Hilton's mutations flashed before his eyes. She actually smiled at that.

"That's not very nice to say to the people who are helping you," she said.

"Helping me‽" Cenric laughed bitterly. "I know how Reliance works! You're transplanting-!"

"Unfortunately," she interrupted, "you were injured in your battle. Our top surgical doctor is treating you."

Cenric laughed, a hollow sound. "Ah, yes. Being strapped to a metal table in the middle of a doctor is obviously standard medical procedure. Oh, and I'm sure kidnapping trainers-"

She interjected, " There was a miscommunication, between—"

But Cenric cut back in, "You're trying to tell me Reliance kidnapping and experimenting people, then attacking trainers was a misunderstanding‽ How stupid do you think I am? I used to be a grunt, you know" Cenric spat venomously.

"You honestly believe Reliance kidnaps people and experiments on them? That was the actions of a few, and as I said before, a miscommunication. The supervisors of those compounds have been appropriately punished," she said, unphased by his outbursts.

"You think a slap on the hand makes this all better‽ What about my missing pokémon? What about Hilton‽ He's stuck like that! What about Claire? Oh, and don't think I don't know about Dialga!" he shouted. She blinked in surprise about his mention of Dialga, but quickly regained control of her face.

"I assure you, we will have your pokémon returned to you as soon as possible. I do not know who Hilton is, but our scientist are working on ways to reverse—"

"So you admit to the human experimentation!" said Cenric, triumphant gleam in his eye and a smirk on his mouth. But when the woman smiled back, his fell.

"That was never a secret. Though the media loves to vilify Reliance, some of our various operations do benefit both humans and pokémon. Our current batch of testing was only to be done on volunteers for the express purpose of—" she was stopped by Cenric's chuckling.

"Arceus, not even the gossip mags would believe that piece of bulls—" she cut him off, eyes narrowing.

"So you should know, as an insider, that as dubious as our methods seem, we have humanity's best interest at heart," she said carefully.

"Experimentation‽ Capturing legendary pokémon‽ How does that help humanity? How does experimenting on me help me in any way‽" he asked, face contorting into a snarl.

Her face darkened for a moment, before she could force the smile back, "I believe I've already stated that you are not being experimented on. That injury happened when you surprised one of your fellow grunts. A deeply regrettable incident that I've am going to great lengths to remedy."

He spit in her direction, though it landed painfully close to his own face thanks to his supine position. "Pull the other one," he snarled. She raised her gloved hand high in the air, ready to slap him across the face, but the door opened and the doctor rushed in.

"Oh! C-Commander, I didn't know-!" he stuttered, seeing the woman.

"Some things need to be taken care of personally," she said saccharinely, placing a hand on Cenric's arm. He tried to jerk her off, but she held firm. The woman leaned in close, a strand of hair fell over his shoulder and brushed Cenric's collarbone. He shivered.

"You're a fool for trusting in your pokémon," she whispered into his ear, "They're simple-minded animals, and they'll abandon you. And remember, all that time ago _you_ chose _us_. Your friends, your family, and your precious League won't forget that."

Withdrawing, she addressed the doctor. "The procedure is completed?" she asked, glancing towards Cenric's bloody stomach.

"Well, I have to clean it and dress it, then antibiotics and pain medication, but after that, yes. He's done." He said, grabbing a small gauze pad. She nodded, and twisted around, striding for the door.

"Cyan is waiting outside. Make use of her when it's time to show him to his room," she called, stepping out into the hallway.

"Wait! My room! You're keeping me here‽ After all that "we're not evil" stuff she spewed?" Cenric said. The doctor ignored him, wiping the blood off Cenric's skin. He worked away at cleaning and dressing the wound while Cenric glared at him, and any other object in his line of vision.

"This is illegal! When the League finds out about this-!" Cenric started.

"Illegal how, young man? Because so far a licensed doctor has treated a wounded patient for _free_ ," he said, trailing off into a mumble, " I told her a lower level doctor would be fine for this. Just sutures, but _nooo_ , she had to rip me from my important work…" He taped a large gauze pad in place over the wound, and looked up at Cenric, "Keep this dry and clean for the next 24 hours, after that you can do gentle washes with antibacterial soap," he said before returning to his grumbling.

"And after a week or two _then_ you'll experiment on me," Cenric said, eyes narrowed.

At that the doctor dropped his tools in frustration and yelled, "Cyan!" A shadow lingering at the doorway entered, coming up to the table.

She was a young woman, early twenties maybe, but there was just something off about her. Her blue eyes were clouded over like a cataract. Her etiolated skin scarcely covered the web of green arteries and veins beneath, and her straight platinum blonde hair hung lifelessly from her scalp. It was like she was a shell of a person. A husk.

"Can you help the boy to his room? He may have trouble walking," the doctor said, untying Cenric's restraints. Cenric waited patiently for the leather strap to fall loose, the he swung and punched the doctor in the nose, sending him stumbling back. Cenric jumped up, scrambling to undo the strap on his other arm.

"Oww oww, Cyan, stop him!" the doctor said, holding his nose, blood trickling down in his mouth. Cyan reached for her belt, unhooking a slick ultra ball and tossing into the air. A strange green and black bird materialized near the operation table.

"Xatu, use Thunder Wave," she said dully. Xatu opened its wings, releasing a spark of blue electricity from its mouth. Cenric tried to dodge, but the spark found him like a heat seeking missile, vanishing into the center of his chest. Cenric fell still.

"Great, how long is that going to last?" asked the doctor, pinching his nose shut, but failing to stop the blood.

"Ten minutes or less," she said, face blank and voice dead.

The doctor nodded, "Can you take him to his room? I need to go take care of this," he said, eyes crossing to look at his nose. Silently, Cyan moved over to the table. She unbuckled the restraints without a glance towards Cenric's face. He could already feel the paralysis fading around his mouth, maybe he could surprise her, over power her, then escape.

She went down to undo the straps near his ankles. Cenric twitched his big toe. Yes, that might work! He'd have to wait until they were alone…

She grabbed both of his legs, and swung them over the side of the table, letting them dangle into space. Xatu hopped over, placing her body against Cenric to support him as Cyan dragged the rest of him off the table. He was surprised to find the woman was actually capable of supporting his weight, well, most of it. The paralysis had worn off enough on his legs for him to put some of his weight on them.

Together they stumbled out of the room into the narrow white hallway, Xatu trailing behind.

"Why?" Cenric couldn't help himself from asking, though it came out rather strained because of his partially locked jaw.

Her eyes flicked to him, betraying nothing.

"Weren't you supposed to be the leader? Why are you taking orders? Why are you helping _her_?" Cenric persisted, thoughts flashing back to the intimidating Commander. All this time she'd been the real head of Reliance if the doctor's and admin's treatment of her was anything to go by, but what did that make Cyan? A figurehead? For who's sake then?

Cyan didn't answer Cenric's initial questions, so he continued, "I only talked to her for a minute, but even I can tell she's insane! Reliance is insane! How can you stand by as they kidnap and experiment on people? Whatever their "humanitarian" goals are, this is not that way to reach them. Any sane person can see that!"

No answer. She dragged him down and hallway, towards an unmarked door at the end of the corridor. Cenric flexed his hand, trying to regain control faster. They reached the door, and Cyan grabbed the card key around her neck, reaching out towards the lock. Now! Cenric struggled, pushing her aside. He got two steps away before a blue aura surrounded him, once again freezing him in place. If he could curse, he would.

Xatu turned him around in midair, eyes glowing blue with psychic power. Cyan righted herself without missing a beat and swiped her card key. The door slid open, revealing a small room, sparsely furnished. It looked like a prison.

Cyan stepped inside, and Xatu levitated Cenric body after her. The pokémon floated Cenric over to the bed, and released her psychic hold.

He fell onto the mattress with an "oomphf" and the fall immediately sent, waves of soreness up his bruised body, and made his stomach twinge distantly, the pain still held at bay by whatever numbing agent they'd given him. He exhaled deeply. His strength was drained. That would be the last escape attempt _for now_.

Cyan turned towards the door to leave, but a dark figure appeared in it before she could exit. Cenric scowled. That awful commander woman was back.

She addressed Cyan with a disdainful look on her face, "Change of plans. The base is being evacuated. The police are getting—" she stopped, looking up at Cenric, "Our _guest_ needs to be relocated."

Cenric sneered. Guests. Yeah right.

"Where?" Cyan asked.

The Commander's eyes darted over to Cenric, and she smiled.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** Short chapter, but I like to at least try to split POV switches if possible. Thoughts about Cyan after this revelation? Who is this strange pasty woman after all? Do you think Cenric will be okay?

 **Fun Fact** : Cenric only has the first four gym badges from Sinnoh.


	12. Aftermath

**Chapter 12: Aftermath**

 **(***)**

I jerked awake, covered in cold sweat. I swiveled my head, seeing only white. White? White! Had I been captured by Reliance again‽ As the world came into focus, my fears dissipated. It wasn't white, it was more of a cream. We were back in a hospital room.

Someone had wrapped me in blankets and put me in an armchair next to a narrow hospital bed. Hilton was sitting up in it, watching me with tired eyes. The tattered and bloodied t-shirt and dress pants had been replaced with a clean hospital gown.

' _How long have I been asleep?'_ I asked sheepishly, breaking off into a yawn,

Hilton shrugged, looking up to the clock on the opposite wall. "Just an hour longer than I was. It's 2pm now," he said with a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

' _2 pm?'_ I repeated _. 'As in 2 in the afternoon? How long were we out? How did we get here?'_ I asked.

Hilton shrugged again. "I don't remember. The nurses have all been too busy taking my blood to answer my questions. Last thing I remember was the desert," he said.

The desert? Oh, right! Memories from the end of last night came rushing back, overwhelming me. I sunk back into my chair, trying to organize it all.

' _What happened to…?'_ I broached, but Hilton turned away to hide his face.

"I don't know," he whispered, voice shaking. I frowned, steepleing my fingers. So much of it didn't make sense.

' _Does Drifloon remember anything?'_ I asked, having a spark of inspiration.

"I don't know," Hilton said quietly, sinking back into the large, fluffy pillow that was propping his upright. He leaned back, closing his eyes.

I looked around the room and spotted his backpack by the foot of my armchair. How did that get there? I hadn't seen that thing in an eternity. Drifloon's poké ball was probably in there.

I thought about jumping out of my warm nest to question drifloon, but then I remember she never said anything anyways. Smacking my head, I gave a hearty sigh. There were too many unsolved riddles. Who were those other people that night in the conference room? Who was the true head of Reliance? Was it all made up of admins and scientists from previous teams? What were their plans for Dialga? How did Cyan fit into all of this? How did Claire fit into all of this? What could cause her to join up with them‽ How could she betray us like that‽ Where did Palmer vanish to? What happened after I passed out? Why didn't Claire and Cyan drag us to their base? Did they just leave us lying out in the desert? That Colress guy made it pretty clear he wanted us for tests. The more I thought about it, the more the events just didn't add up.

Wait a second…Claire didn't even seemed phased by my evolution or even Hilton's mutations for that matter. True, Cyan could have told her, but… What even happened again? I ran the series of events through my mind, and then it hit me!

I started to laugh. If I didn't do that, I would've broke down and cried. Hilton opened one eye curiously, looking at me.

' _It wasn't real,'_ I whispered, and he opened both eyes, turning to me in confusion.

"What?"

' _Right before Claire came out, what was happening?'_ I asked, hoping to lead him to the same conclusion I arrived at.

Hilton's face crinkled in thought. "Umm, Cyan left with that other guy to go find people or something, which left that purple-haired Palmer guy with us."

I nodded excitedly, ' _And then?'_

"Thennn he went to get Loonloon, and I stabbed him in the leg. C-Cla-" he tried to get her name out, but couldn't. He sniffled, trying to hold himself together. " _She_ came out and—"

I broke him off. ' _Nooo, before that. Right after you stabbed him. He was reaching for his poké balls and I tried to use Confusion on him, but something weird happened.'_

"What are you saying?" Hilton asked, twisting the cotton sheets in his sweaty hands.

' _Do you remember last night at the contest when Lunette—I mean that one shiny kirlia came out. Do you remember what the announcer said?'_ I asked.

Hilton closed his eyes in concentration, combing through his memories. I didn't blame him. It seemed like years ago now. He opened his eyes, frowning, and shook his head.

' _Kirlia are known for their illusions, and I still don't have control over my powers, so it's possible that—'_

"None of that was real," Hilton whispered.

I nodded. ' _Yeah, I'm sorry about that,'_ I said, unable to meet his eyes. My guilt however, was overpowered by the relief of finding out none of it was real.

"None of that was real," Hilton repeated, staring blankly into space. I nodded, grinning. Claire wasn't part of Reliance. The reality finally hit home for Hilton. His nose started to crinkle, and his eyes started to glisten. Oh, no. Quickly, he threw the bed sheet over himself, curling up in a ball with his back towards me.

The sound of muffled sobs echoed around the small hospital, and I groaned. Why was he upset now? Wasn't it a good thing?

' _Hilton…?'_ I broached. I couldn't help him unless he talked to me.

The green-haired boy turned over to face me, wrapped in the blankets like a cocoon so only his head was exposed. His face was red, and snot was running down, soaking into the hospital's sheets.

' _Isn't that a good thing?'_ I asked tentatively, afraid I was going to set him off again.

Hilton swallowed, clearing his throat before answering me. "Did you see the way she looked at me?" he whispered. "What she said—" but his voice started to waver so badly he couldn't continue.

' _Hilton, it wasn't real,'_ I said gently. ' _Claire isn't like that.'_

He sniffled again. He thought about my words for a moment, and then started to nod. A small smile broke out amidst the tears, and I almost fell over in relief. "Yeah," he said, voice still uneven from crying, "Claire loves me. She's the prettiest and strongest trainer in the world. She could beat Reliance by herself," he said, still wrapped up in his blanket.

I frowned at that, scanning him critically. ' _Hilton, she isn't really like that either. That first Claire who kissed you, that was just part of the illusion,'_ I said quietly.

His smile fell, and he stared at me in confusion. "W-well then, who am I in love with?" he asked, voice barely audible.

I shrugged. ' _Another illusion I guess…'_

Hilton went silent, following the folds of the bed sheet with his watering eyes. The moments of silence lapsed into minutes.

Afternoon light filtered through the window behind me, filling the room with natural freshness and negating the need for artificial light. I was stuck in one of the two arm chairs in the room, both nestled in the recess of the window. The walls were painted beige that matched the spotless title floor. Sheer curtains hung from the window, shifting faintly from the AC.

The room smelled pleasant, and there was a muted TV playing on the opposite wall from Hilton's bed. A blonde teen with green streaks was reporting on the events of last night. He had a mole on the side of his chin. The screen flashed to low-quality footage of a building on fire, then to another aerial view of the city just as the power went out. Wait a minute…if the TV was playing that meant the power was back, right? But didn't Elesa say something about the hospitals having backup generators? But if we were using backup generators, would they waste energy on TVs?

I twisted in the chair, trying to see out the window, but the sill was too high. Frowning, I decided I'd finally have to move. With a deep breath, I reached for the armrest, but overshot it grossly. I scowled at my new, longer arms. Trying again, I managed to wrap my stubby fingers around the coarse fabric, and pull myself onto my knees. My knees shook under the weight of my body. Why had my head gotten bigger, but my legs gotten smaller? That didn't even make sense!

With a frustrated groan, I heaved again, dragging myself to my feet. For a glorious moment I stood at my new height, a full foot taller than before, but then my legs began to quake, knocking together painfully. I fell back into by nest of blankets; the back of my head fizzed at the soft impact.

I reached backwards, exploring the old injury. It was still there and had apparently sized up to keep in scale with my larger head, but the edges of the cracks didn't seem as harsh. Almost like they'd started healing over. Had I been healed in my sleep? I examined the rest of my body. It was still foreign to me, but there weren't any scratches or injuries from last night.

I sighed, leaning back to study the ceiling. Did other pokémon have this much trouble adjusting when they evolved? Was it just kirlia? I didn't know who to ask…My thoughts flashed briefly to Lunette, and my face flushed hot. Yeah, right. Like I'd ever see her again.

Groaning, I pulled myself up again. I didn't release my grip from the armrest, but instead used it to help support my weight as I took several wobbly, tentative steps towards the back of the chair. My skit—for lack of a better word—waved in the air, brushing against my legs and making me jump. My heart pounded and I grabbed the armrest to keep from falling a second time. This was going to take a while to get used to. With difficulty, I made my way to the back of the chair, and pulled myself first on top of the arm rest, then on top of the chair itself. Thankfully the back of the chair was pushed right up against the windowsill and was level with it.

With a relieved sigh, I sat down, watching the city below.

Power was back on for everyone, judging by the electronic billboards advertising various cosmetics and electronics. Down on the street I could see the signs of last night's battle, proving to me it wasn't just a bad dream. Construction workers and volunteers scrambled around the street below, trying to keep the path to the hospital clear as they started repairing Castelia's broken infrastructure.

It was strange having my skull plate extend down the sides of my head now. I shuddered at their resemblance to what the humans called "pigtails". It wasn't even bone at that point, they were made of cartilage like the segments of my skirt. Even though they lacked rigidity, they still made an irritating green frame around my vision. I did my best to ignore it with limited success.

Bird pokémon soared through the clear skies, ferrying supplies and helping to clear debris. I wondered where Lawrence had gone in all the madness. Surely he hadn't been recaptured; he was too strong for that. But then again…how had he been captured in the first place? I made a mental note to ask him the next time I saw him in a good mood.

The door clicked open behind me, interrupting my thoughts. I twisted around to see a doctor poking her head in, observing the lump in the bed called Hilton. Hilton twisted around to look at the woman. Seeing that he was awake, she smiled and entered, white coat fluttering behind her.

"How do you feel?" she asked, pulling up a stool.

"Mmm," Hilton said, still despondent from the events of last night.

"On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, give me a number," she prompted, smiling. Her dark skin was warm, and her black hair was put into tiny braids that met in a ponytail at the nape of her neck.

"Seven," Hilton croaked, and the doctor straightened at this.

"Why? What hurts?" she asked, rising out of her stool.

"My heart," Hilton groaned, turning again so his face was buried in the pillow. I wondered if he'd suffocate like that.

"Figuratively or literally?" she asked, still ready for action. Hilton just moaned. I sighed, clearly not much was going to get done today.

' _Figuratively,'_ I said to her, opening telepathy. She jumped, looking around with eyes wide. I gave her a little wave, and upon spotting me she smiled.

The doctor put a hand over her heart, still breathing heavily. "Oh, you scared me. Don't do that again," she said, still smiling.

' _He's having girl trouble,'_ I explained and the doctor mouthed a little "oh".

Hilton mumbled something, but the pillow in front of his mouth just made it sound like gibberish.

"Can you turn around?" she asked, seating herself on the rolling stool again. "It's hard to hear you through that pillow," she joked.

Hilton rolled over to face her, back towards me. "What happened to us?" he moaned, the doctor sighed.

"I was hoping you could tell me that. A couple of trainers found you boys lying in the desert last night injured, so they rushed you here. We sent your kirlia and drifloon off to the Pokémon Center for healing and treated you here. A gentlemen brought them back from the Pokémon Center along with your backpack and clothes. He said his name was Mr. Harrison. He also said not to worry about the suit?" she said it as a question, raising an eyebrow. Hilton breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, I was hoping you could fill in the gaps for me. What happened to you? When we ran our test we found traces of toxicroak venom in your blood. Were you cut by one several weeks ago?" she asked.

Hilton pulled himself up into a sitting position again, finally relinquishing his blanket cocoon. He sniffled, wiping his eyes. "No, it was last night. Saturn's stabbed me in the leg," he said.

The doctor furrowed her brow. "You did have a gash in your leg that we took care of for you, but there's no way it came from a toxicroak. You'd be in much worse shape if it was," she said.

"It was! He used Poison Jab on my leg!" Hilton insisted.

"That's impossible. Toxicroak venom is fatal to humans if not treated within thirty minutes. Unless…" she whispered. The doctor pushed her rolling stool to the door, opening it, and leaned down the hallway. She called to a nurse, asking him to bring her the results of some blood tests. Rolling back inside the room, she faced Hilton. "Can you tell me anything about what Reliance did to you? Anything you remember would be helpful," she said,

Hilton scrunched his eyes closed, thinking back to last week. "Right after I was captured they put me in a room with other people, but a little later they put me in my own room. They gave me lots of shots then they took me to this lab. They gave me this stuff that made me go all numb and gave me even more shots. Oh, and then they did something with electricity? I don't really know. I kinda passed out then. I woke up when Cenric and the others were escaping, and I was like this," he said.

"You said it only took a few days? And you haven't felt nauseous, feverish, any flu-like symptoms?" she asked, leaning forward.

Hilton shook his head. "I mean, I've been kinda sore from travelling. Oh! And I did fall down that cliff and hit my head! But the doctors in Veilstone said that healed up already…" Hilton said, thoughtfully.

"Amazing. Just amazing," the doctor whispered.

Hilton frowned in confusion, cocking his head. "What is?" he asked.

She just shook her head. "All these Reliance experiments...It's incredibly advanced gene manipulation….It's thirty, forty years ahead of what mainstream science or medicine is capable of.," she murmured. "We've had to call in specialists from all over the world to even understand what we're dealing with. Surgeons, geneticists, cardiologist, hematologist, dermatologist…hell, maybe even a herpetologist…" she mumbled on.

Oh, wow. That was heartening. I slumped back against the window. She made it sound like we were going to be here for a _long_ time.

"There have been cases where fraternal twins will reject organ transplants," she continued, "But you…They've managed to inject you with the DNA of an entirely different _species_ without the use of immunosuppressant drugs, and your body hasn't torn itself apart" she said, rubbing her forehead.

"I thought this _was_ my body rejecting it," said Hilton, pointing to the discolored skin on his arm.

She sighed, "We just don't have the resources right now with the battle from last night to run more detailed scans yet. And your blood work is still in the lab. I would guess your body initially rejected the DNA, causing all the side effects you see, but it seems to have stabilized for now. Of course, we'll be keeping you under constant observation," she said.

"So, I'm okay?" Hilton said hopefully.

"Well, the skin and teeth discoloration so far seem mostly superficial along with that keratin growth that looks like scales, but we're still calling in a dermatologist and maybe even a dentist. We'll have to call an ophthalmologist to get a better idea about your eyes, the left one specifically," she said. "I have something to show you. I'll be right back," she said, leaving the room.

The doctor returned with a manila folder in hand. She set it on the desk and took out several glossy black sheets of paper. She returned to her stool, handing the x-rays to Hilton.

"We had to run some tests while you were unconscious to make sure there wasn't anything life threatening," she explained. "Internal hemorrhage, brain damage—"

Hilton looked up at that, eyes going wide.

"No brain damage," she said quickly, trying to calm him down. "You'll notice," she said, reaching across him to point at the x-rays. "There's some fusion of your third and fourth ribs, and a little on the fifth, which explains why your back is a little twisted and hunched over. We see something similar in your left elbow and knee. I assume you've noticed a more limited range of motion?" she asked.

"Yeah," Hilton sighed. "I kinda walk with a bit of a limp too."

The doctor nodded understandingly. "We've also noticed some abnormalities in your blood, but like I said, we're still waiting for more detailed lab results. I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here for a while until we can understand exactly what Reliance did to your body," she said.

Hilton scowled, pursing his lips. "I escaped from the lab with a lot of other people with mutations. If I'm not in danger, can't you let me go and run tests on them?"

She smiled, taking the x-rays back. "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. We need to keep you under observation in case anything changes, and hopefully in time we might be able to reverse it," she said, getting up for the last time. Placing the scans back into the folder, she walked towards the door, pausing with her hand on the knob. "Nurses should be coming in and out of here. If you feel anything change, please let them know immediately."

As she turned the knob, it opened in on her from the outside, and a familiar face poked in. The poor doctor jumped again, resting a hand over her racing heart.

"Maylene!" Hilton cried, a wide grin returning to his face. The small gym leader apologized for scaring the doctor, and stepped into our hospital room after letting the doctor exit. She limped past Hilton's bed and collapsed in the empty armchair besides me, propping her foot up. White gauze encircled the extremity, but Maylene paid it no mind.

She glanced backwards to look out the window, but her magenta eyes landed on me instead.

"No, way! Is that you, Noël?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair. I grinning in embarrassment, giving her a little wave. "So I guess you guys got to see some of the action last night too, and it looks like you both made it out okay," she said, leaning back and crossing her arms with a smile. Her frame, although slender, was taught with ribbons of muscle. I shuddered. She was someone dangerous to underestimate.

Hilton nodded, "What about you? What was the League doing last night?" he asked.

She laughed, running her calloused hands through her clean hair. She must've showered recently. "Well, after you found me at the contest hall, I called some of my trainers. The contest starts and they're on their way to check it out when I get a call. They tell me there's fighting in the streets, and Reliance is in the sewer, so I try and get in contact with as many League members as I can, and then we go. I think most people were fighting, but they left some to guard the Pokémon Center and hospital, and Skyla and some of the others ended up helping to fly people to hospitals, and stuff," she said. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you to begin with. I guess I just figured Hilton was a little crazy off pain meds," she exclaimed with an embarrassed grimace.

I didn't really blame her for not believing us. The idea was, and still was just so ludicrous. Reliance was hidden under Castelia all this time? Ridiculous.

Hilton just waved her off. "It's over now anyways," he said with a shrug.

' _What did you end up doing?'_ I asked, eyeing the large Band-Aids that spotted her exposed arms and neck.

"Well, they sent me to guard one of the Pokémon Centers," she explained with a slight frown, but it quickly broke into a triumphant smile, "But a couple of Reliance grunts tried to make a run on it, so my pokémon and I had to fight them off," she said proudly. "What about you guys?"

I nodded towards Hilton, letting him tell the story. He explained how we had stumbled upon their base initially, and she gasped. Hilton continued his story, glossing over how we might've accidentally caused the mess by alerting them in the first place. "We saw Latios once, I think. Has he been around?" he asked.

Maylene cocked her head, staring at the ceiling in thought. "I think I saw him fly by once after the sun had set, but I haven't seen him since then either," she said. "I'll tell the League to keep an eye out."

"That would be great," Hilton said, and proceeded with the story. He talked about the first toxicroak, how we struggled to the Pokémon Center, and how we learned about Elesa's disappearance. Maylene added grimly that Elesa still hadn't been found. Once Hilton started detailing the series of events that transpired in the tower, Maylene stopped him.

"Wait wait wait. Hilton, it sounds like you guys stumbled in on an admin meeting," Maylene said slowly.

Hilton shrugged. "That's what it sounded like, I guess."

"This is huge," she whispered, eyes wide. Snapping her head up, she stared at Hilton. "Can you remember any names? Faces? Any physical descriptions?" she asked.

Hilton sighed, staring at the ceiling as he tried to think. "That Cyan woman was there," he said.

Her jaw went slack. "You fought the leader of Reliance?"

Hilton and I frowned.

' _I don't think so? I mean, she was someone important, but the other admins were kinda pushing her around,'_ I supplied. _'She didn't act like she was in charge?'_

Hilton nodded in agreement. "She was going to take us to a base in Lostlorn—"

"Lostlorn? You mean Lostlorn Forest? Reliance has a base there‽" Maylene asked, rising out of her chair. Hilton and I nodded in unison.

With shaking fingers, she dialed up a contact on her cross-transceiver. It rang once, then someone picked up.

"Hello?" came a voice, distorted and mechanical from interference from the hospital machinery. It was audio-only.

"Cynthia!" Maylene cried in relief, "I'm so glad I got through! Listen, Reliance has a base hidden in Lostlorn Forest," she said all in one breath.

The other end was silence for a moment before Cynthia finally spoke again. "Are you sure? We can't afford to waste trainers on false leads," she warned.

Maylene looked over her shoulder at Hilton, doubt in her eyes.

"It's true!" Hilton insisted, "Why else would they've found us in the desert near there?" he asked.

Maylene turned back to her cross-transceiver. "I'm sure," she said firmly.

"I'll send a team right away. Don't let this information get out. We can't give them time to escape again," Cynthia said.

"Understood. Also, do you remember that green-haired boy with the mutations who was with me when we talked back in Veilstone?" Maylene asked, glancing over at Hilton.

"Vaguely," was Cynthia's reply.

"I'm in the hospital on Mode Street, and I think you should come hear what he has to say. I'm not even sure if I can say it over our cross-transceivers," Maylene whispered.

"I'll be over there as soon as I can," she said, hanging up with a beep.

Maylene sighed, flopping back into the chair with a weak smile. "It's been a long day," she said, resting her head against the back of the chair.

Even if I had only been awake for less than an hour, I couldn't help agreeing with her, and I had a sick feeling it was just going to get longer.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** The entire pokémon franchise seems to have some confusion on the difference between poison and venom. Despite Toxicroak's pokédex entries insisting it's poisonous, it's actually venomous instead. Seviper too, but it seems they corrected it in more recent generations. Anyways, chill chapter, but I think our duo has earned it at this point, right? Where's Lawrence though?

 **Fun Fact** : The real reason Dialga came to the human world was to find the answer to one very important question: are we human or are we dancer?


	13. Aftershock

**A/N:** I'm writing part of this chapter on a cruise ship (yes writing fanfiction is my idea of relaxation), and the captain just said there's a disco dance class tonight. Hmmmm.

 **Chapter 13: Aftershock**

 **(***)**

Hilton settled back into the hospital bed, yawning mightily. His eyelids were drooping down over his eyes, and large bags hung under them. Well, they did on the right side of his face, but seeing as the left side of his face was navy blue, I couldn't really tell. There was, however, a new addition to his face: a pair of narrow rectangular glasses with green rims that perfectly matched the hue of his hair.

' _Who gave you glasses?'_ I asked, lounging back into my armchair. Pale moonlight mixed with the golden city lights, filtering through the window behind me. They reflected back at me in the lenses of Hilton's glasses as he turned to look at me.

Hilton shrugged. "They had an eye doctor doing tests with me, and he noticed I was squinting. Turns out I've needed glasses for a while," he said. I scoffed. Even I could've told him that. "Turns out I had a pretty common prescription, so during his break he ran back to his office and grabbed me a pair to try on. He said I should come by later and get a better fit," Hilton explained.

' _Is that legal? Aren't humans strict about medical things?'_ I asked, examining the glasses suspiciously.

Hilton grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief. "I won't tell if you don't," he said, flashing his artificially lengthened incisors.

I laughed. It had indeed been a long day. After Cynthia grilled Hilton, he had to go through the same thing with about twenty more people. Various League members, the international police, and the like. After about the sixth retelling, I'd gotten bored and dozed off. Whenever I regained consciousness I'd see Hilton telling the exact same information to a new group of people before I drifted back out again. Unfortunately for us, they asked most of the questions, and it was few and far between when Hilton could get his own in. But from the scattered intelligence, we'd deduced no one had seen head or tail of Lawrence, Cenric, Claire or Elesa, the League _had_ managed to capture many of the Reliance grunts-they were being held for questioning-, the admins we'd encountered probably weren't in the city any longer, and the Lostlorn base raid was a bust. Just like Sinnoh, the base had been burned to the ground, but unlike Sinnoh, this time there was no salvageable evidence. Apparently they'd even discovered a Reliance stronghold in Nimbasa in the same condition.

My tired thoughts swam in every direction, still unorganized from the events of yesterday. Just nearly a week ago I'd been a ralts training with Claire in Sunyshore, but now…now I was kirlia sitting in a Castelia City hospital room next to my mutated worst enemy, and we were having civil conversations. Well, I supposed calling him my worst enemy was a stretch. Cyan and everyone in Reliance held a special dark place in my heart for that honor. Besides, he was much more tolerable when Claire wasn't around. He actually acted like a rational human being most of the time, and that was progress!

Hilton yawned again, slipping his new glasses off and putting them on the nightstand with a clink. He rubbed the bridge of his nose where they had rested. It was beyond me how humans could stand having devices on their faces all day. Oh! And don't even get me started on contacts! I shuddered at the thought, but ended in a yawn of my own.

Hilton smiled, and sunk down into the covers, cocooning himself yet again. He rolled towards me, watching the city lights twinkle behind my head.

"Do you think they're okay?" he whispered, and I stared at him thoughtfully, wondering if he was referring to anyone specifically.

I eventually nodded. ' _Claire and Cenric are strong, and Lawrence is a legendary for Arceus's sake. They'll be fine,'_ I said, trying to sound dismissive, but I felt worry creep into my voice. ' _Besides,'_ I continued, ' _Claire's only been gone for a week, and Cenric a day,_ _ **and**_ _we're still not even sure if Lawrence is missing at all_ ,' I said. In all likelihood he was probably hunting down Reliance grunts.

"Claire doesn't have you or any of her other pokémon," Hilton pointed out. "And I'll bet Reliance took Cenric's from him."

' _I'm sure they're strong enough to handle themselves,'_ I lied.

Hilton nodded, content. "Maybe they're all escaping together, and they're on their way here now," he said dreamily as he snuggled deeper into the mattress.

I hummed in acknowledgement. It was a nice thought. I yawned again, pulling the sheet on the chair up to my chin. I was still slowly getting used to my new body.

"Goodnight, Noël," Hilton whispered.

' _Goodnight,'_ I whispered back, letting my heavy lids fall and the night consume me.

I dreamed of Claire, Cenric, Hilton and I all riding on Latios's back. We had bright tropical drinks in our hands, and dangled our feet over Lawrence's back into the wind. A tropical region flashed below us as we soared through the sky. We laughed and smiled in the sunlight, and Reliance was nowhere to be found. A strong wind blew, tossing me off Latios's back. I plummeted towards earth, shrieking as I fell. The rocky ground got closer and closer! I closed my eyes the moment before impact.

BANG!

My eyes flashed open and I jumped up a foot into the air, nearly falling over onto the dark floor. My heart fluttered in my chest like a mad bird trying to escape its cage, filling my ears with the sound of rushing blood. I felt my heartbeat throb in my temple, and my lungs couldn't seem to inhale enough air to fill their needs.

I looked up and saw the door had been flung open, and two human figures were entering. I frowned in confusion, still trying to calm my frantic heart. Why would the nurses be so loud? That was awfully inconsiderate.

One of the humans turned so the light from the hall illuminated half of her face. I gasped, blood running cold. My body felt like lead.

Cyan.

This time she had a dark bruise staining the corner of her right eye to match the one on her jaw. Good! The other shadowy figure must've been one of her cronies!

' _Hilton!'_ I shouted via telepathy, trying to force my way into his dreams. I sat perfectly still, hoping they wouldn't notice me as I tried to rouse them. I expanded my field of perception, trying to detect any benign psyches that I could call to. No one.

"Look at him! He's dead asleep! I bet we could take him and he wouldn't even wake up," whispered the man looming over Hilton, he broke into low chuckles.

' _Hilton! Get up!'_ I hissed again, shrinking back as Cyan neared. She circled around the bed, eyes locked on Hilton's bag at the foot of the arm chair. I held my breath as she bent down, wishing I was in my smaller, less conspicuous ralts body.

"What are you doing, Cyan?" the other man asked, but she didn't answer.

' _Hilton Hilton Hilton!'_ I projected again, and finally the boy groaned, turning over. Cyan ruffled through Hilton's bag, bending her head low and exposing the back of her neck. She was vulnerable! If either of them got the chance to release their pokémon, it was all over!

With a hesitant war cry, I launched myself from the chair onto her back, ripping at her blonde hair.

The noise startled Hilton out of his sleep with a surprised yelp, but as he spotted the two dark figures around his beside, it turned into a scream.

Cyan ripped at my legs and torso with rough glove-covered hands, but I just wrapped my fists in coils of her hair, screaming louder.

"Go, Camerupt!" shouted the other man, all the while Hilton was screaming for help.

As the fire-type exploded into the hospital room with a flash of red light, my grip loosened and Cyan took the opportunity to fling me across the room.

I landed on Hilton's chest, knocking the air out of both of us.

My head spun, and I couldn't breathe. With a groan, I rolled off of Hilton's torso, looking to our enemies.

Dark maroon light filled the room from the lava oozing down Camerupt's miniature volcanoes, casting mad light on all of our faces and heating the room so much it felt like an oven. In the new light I could see the other figure was that red-haired kid Cyan liked to tote around. Great. Just great.

Cyan herself managed to right herself, sparing a moment to calm her wild hair, before turning to stare at me. Our eyes locked, and the room froze. Suddenly everything besides her and me blurred past, blown by an enormous wind. The room was covered in smoke and flames! Something behind her head exploded, sending out a roaring inferno, but then it happened in reverse, everything sucking back into one point before repeating itself again. Dark shrapnel rocketed past me, and the flames licked my toes. Cyan stood in the center of the destruction, unmoving, unblinking. She started to shrink? No! She was ageing backwards! Becoming younger!

All at once the world faded to black, and I opened my eyes to find myself covered in a cold sweat, gasping for air and staring at the ceiling from the cold tile floor. Was it all a dream?

"Doctor! Nurse! Anybody! Help!" shouted Hilton from somewhere in front of me. The room was still bathed in that crimson light. I groaned. So not all of it was a dream. I pushed myself up. Somehow I'd ended up on the other side of the bed, and Hilton was in it alone, facing Cyan and Alimer on the other side.

"Would you just shut up?" Alimer shouted at Hilton, stepping forward menacingly. "There's no one to hear you! Our grunts made sure of that!" he said, a toothy grin stretching his freckled face.

Hilton threw his covers off, jumping out of bed only to lose his balance and stumble to his knees. Camerupt stepped between Hilton and Cyan, growling.

I tried to push myself up, but my weak arms shook beneath me, and I collapsed again, panting. So they'd finally come to finish the job? This time it looked like they'd actually do it. Our luck had run out.

"Why don't you just come quietly?" asked Alimer, leaning against the wall casually, "Or loudly. It won't really matter either way," he finished with a grin. "There are a lot of scientists who want to meet you after that stunt you pulled last night. You know, Palmer's still in critical con—"

"Alimer," Cyan said lowly, placing a warning hand on his shoulder. With a frown, Alimer crossed his arms, but remained silent. Cyan withdrew her hand from Alimer's shoulder and reached for one of the poké balls on her belt, unclipping it.

Before I could close my eyes, another shadowy silhouette barreled through the doorway and into the room, colliding with Cyan, and sending her through the window. The glass shattered in a fantastic symphony of destruction, sending shards flying across the room, catching the light like raindrops as they went. Cyan disappeared into the inky night.

Alimer screamed, pushing the newcomer out of the way towards the window. He withdrew Camerupt with one hand, and released a crobat with the other, before diving out himself.

Hilton sunk back onto the hospital bed in utter silence, jaw slack and hanging.

' _They're probably coming back',_ I wheezed, still pinned to the floor by my own weakness and now the minefield of broken glass.

"I do not think so. At least not tonight," the newest figure said, sinking into my armchair with an unsteady exhale. Wait…that voice…?

"Lawrence!" Hilton cried, vaulting across the dangerous floor the give the legendry-turned-human a hug. Lawrence squirmed uncomfortably in Hilton's arms, eventually pushing the bigger boy off him.

Hilton treaded over to me, careful to avoid stepping on the glass himself. After picking me up and jumping back on the bed, Hilton turned to face Lawrence. I rolled over in Hilton's lap—still panting—to stare at his face. Sweat dripped down the human half, while flakes of dried skin peeled off the other. I tried to ignore that half. He glanced down at me, both pupils dilated to their fullest and a nervous grin playing at his contorted lips.

Hilton glanced back up to face Lawrence. "That was awesome! And you weren't even in your real form for that! You just threw Cyan out the window!" he said, breathless but excited.

"It was more of a body slam" Lawrence corrected and reclined back in the chair, taking deep, slow breathes that pushed and pulled at his slender ribcages. His head rested on the back of the armchair, so he stared up into the ceiling. Wind from the broken window played with strands of his disheveled blue hair. My eyes were slowly accommodating for the low light levels, and I could see the faint city lights reflected on the curves of his childish face. Wait a minute…that looked like…?

I frowned, trying to focus in on his face. It almost looked like he had a scratch across his nose, and a smear of dirt staining his cheek. ' _What happened to you?'_ I could help asking. The closer I looked, the more exhausted he appeared.

Lawrence lifted his head to stare at me, crimson eyes scanning me in the darkness. I shrunk back into Hilton's hospital gown, afraid I'd irritated him which wasn't hard to do.

Finally, he rested his head back again. "It cannot possibly be as interesting as what happened to you," he asked with a tired, half-grin.

I smiled more out of relief, just glad I hadn't upset him.

"I mean, that was just so cool!" Hilton exclaimed, eyes flashing from Lawrence to the broken window. Was he still on that? "Can you teach me how to do that?" he asked, leaning forward so I almost tumbled off his lap. Groaning, I rolled off onto the sheets, happy to know my strength was slowly returning.

' _Should we, you know, call someone? Like the police? Doctors? The League?'_ I asked, happy to intrude on Hilton's praise-fest.

"A majority of the human staff was unconscious, but some appeared to be stirring. I am sure they will revive soon enough and call the emergency services themselves. That is, unless either of you have a communications device on you?" Lawrence asked. Hilton shook his head sadly.

I flushed in embarrassment, but couldn't let it go. ' _But what if Reliance comes back? What if Cyan actually has time to release her pokémon? They're all scary strong,'_ I said, remembering our first encounter on the Sunyshore beach where the woman had knocked out trainer after trainer with just one pokémon.

Lawrence smiled that same vampiric, wicked smile he got when something bad happened to Reliance. "The injuries she received from her collision with the window should… _inhibit_ her for at least several days," he said, eyes flashing. "The other human should be taking her to a medical facility now. I doubt he will return either."

' _But what if they send someone else?'_ I asked, twisted my hands in the bed sheets.

Lawrence sighed in annoyance. "Before the sun rises, the League will have discovered the events of this evening, and when that time comes you will not be able to breathe without running into their security officers. Until then I will protect you, understood?" he said, locking eyes with me.

I nodded meekly, but secretly wondered if he had the strength for that. The boy looked thin and pale, and he was still taking deep breaths.

"Besides the immediate, did anything noteworthy happen in my absence?" Lawrence asked, shifting in his chair. He crossed one willowy leg over the other and folded his arms.

"I got glasses!" Hilton said, grinning. He reached over to the nightstand to grab them, and I rolled my eyes. Of all the things….

' _Well,'_ I started before Hilton could continue about his new eyewear, ' _my powers are still completely useless. First, I used teleport and basically alerted the grunts we'd found their lair in the sewers which started the whole mess, then I got thrown into a door frame and evolved somehow, then I cast a mirage on both Hilton and I on accident, and…I think that's it?'_ I said, looking to Hilton for confirmation.

"You forgot when you teleported us onto that conference table. Oh, and that episode you had just now," he said.

I nodded. ' _That too._ '

Lawrence raised a trim eyebrow. "You were thrown into door…and evolved," he repeated slowly.

' _Yup. Though it didn't do us much good,'_ I said _. 'In fact, I think my powers have gotten even worse since then,'_ I said glumly, lying my head down on the mattress.

"Perhaps, but it was the spike of psychic energy that alerted me to your location and allowed me to save you," he said.

' _Well, whatever it was, it was strange,'_ I said, rolling onto my back. ' _Almost like a dream.'_

"Explain," Lawrence commanded.

I sighed, mildly irritated by his tone, but I knew that was a battle I couldn't win. ' _I dunno. I just looked at Cyan and our eyes met, and then the room changed and there were explosions and she was getting younger. That's about when it stopped,'_ I said.

"It appears you have experienced a vision. Kirlia are known for such along with their illusions," Lawrence explained, tapping his fingers against his arm. "Normally, they are visions of future events, but your injury may explain why you saw a younger Cyan instead. You get visions of the past."

' _Oh, great!'_ I exclaimed, throwing my hands up into the air. ' _That's soooo useful! I'm glad evolving got me a repertoire of new and_ _ **useful**_ _skills! Ughhh!'_ Why did Arceus hate me‽ We needed to find Claire and Dialga soon, so I could get this injury fixed.

"Lawrence, have you spoken to Maylene yet?" Hilton murmured, staring at the broken glass on the floor.

' _Thanks for listening and helping me through my issues. I'm glad to have such a caring and supporting friend,'_ I said, glaring at Hilton.

"No," Lawrence said, sounding very unapologetic.

"You know, they took Cenric," Hilton said softly. My anger fizzled out. Hilton looked up at Lawrence, eyebrows pressed together in concern.

"They also almost kidnapped you along with Noël. I highly doubt a stray grunt was their supreme objective," Latios said, but his voice lacked his usual conviction. His eyes focused in on something distant.

' _Lawrence?'_ I asked, filling the unease and restlessness swirl around in his stomach. That was especially unusual for him.

He turned away to stare out the broken window. The sounds of normal city life had already started to return, drifting up from the street, through the night air, and to our window. He murmured something, but since he was facing away from us, neither Hilton or I quite made it out.

"Come again?" Hilton asked, looking from him to me in confusion.

With a sigh, Lawrence twisted back around to face us, sinking even further down the chair. He looked even paler which only made his coating of grime and the injuries stand out more. He actually looked like an exhausted, broken human child and not the legendary he truly was. His dark eyes flicked from me to Hilton before he opened his mouth.

"I saw Cenric."

"What‽" ' _You what_ _‽_ ' Hilton and I erupted in unison.

Lawrence ran a thin hand through his tangled hair. "Last night…" he started slowly, "I pursued several Reliance grunts across the desert. Unfortunately, they noticed my presence and forced me to land," he said bitterly.

"No way! You're a legendary. No way normal Reliance grunts could take you down!" Hilton insisted.

Lawrence rolled his eyes. He went to stretch his arms, but the movement caused him to wince. Gingerly, he rested his arms back on the armrests. "I had already wasted a majority of my power on the efforts here. And they surprised me," he added defensively. I swore I almost saw him flush in the darkness, but he quickly regained control of his face. "I landed in the woods, and discovered one of their bases nearby. I crept inside, pulled the fire alarm, and on the way back out I spotted Cenric being carried towards the base. He was unconscious."

"So you freed him?" Hilton gasped, spine straightening. His head swiveled, frantically searching the room for the lanky, black-haired teen.

Lawrence gritted his teeth, staring resolutely at the floor. "After I escaped from the Reliance grunts they chased me down, and I was forced to use the last of my energy to get away," he said, clenching the armrest until the tendons on the back of his hand bulged. "I finally managed to escape them, but at that point I was too weak to fly all the way back to Castelia. I managed to get to Nimbasa to recover before my wings gave out," he said.

Hilton opened his mouth to speak, but I gave his leg a little nudge with my foot. Now wasn't the time. Hilton closed his mouth again, turning his attention back to Latios.

"I was on the verge of collapsing," Lawrence continued, voice low and hard, "It was dark out, and they were heading into an alley. I tried to follow, but just…I could not…" he started, tightening his grip on the chair until his hands turned white. "I barely had the strength to move and they had teams of fully healed pokémon. I should have…" Lawrence released his grip on the chair just to pound it with his fist.

"I thought you hated him," Hilton said quietly.

"Oh, I do," Lawrence said. "He's a sniveling Reliance grunt, but as much as I loathe to admit it, his inside knowledge made him a useful ally. Besides, Reliance doesn't play well with prisoners," he said with a mirthless smile.

The three of us sat in silent thought for several minutes, while the city lights flickered off the glass that coated the floor.

"Did he…look okay?" Hilton finally asked, unable to look at Latios.

"Bruised, bleeding, and unconscious, but living. They had not experimented on him," Lawrence said quietly. I added a mental "yet" to the end of his sentence.

' _Well, at least we know he's close,'_ I said, trying to stay hopeful.

Hilton hummed in agreement, nodding he head. He stopped suddenly, head snapping up to stare at Lawrence. "Where did you say the base was?" he asked quickly.

"Nimbasa," Lawrence said.

"That's so close!" Hilton exclaimed. "We need to go tell someone!" he said, nearly jumping out of the bed.

My smile froze on my face, and I dropped back down onto the mattress. ' _Wait. Hilton…'_ I called, grabbing a hold of his hospital gown. He turned to me, frowning in confusion. ' _The Nimbasa base isn't there anymore, remember?'_ I said sullenly.

"What?" hissed Latios, scowling.

Hilton punched the air in frustration and flopped back down on the bed. "He's right," Hilton moaned. "It was burnt to the ground just like Lostlorn, and inn Sinnoh," he said, rolling over to bury his face in the sheets.

Lawrence cursed under his breath, banging the poor armrest again. "They could be anywhere by now," he growled.

Sirens sounded outside our window gradually getting louder. Lawrence stirred from his chair, pushing himself out while still being mindful of the glass. The action caused him to wince again.

"You're leaving?" Hilton asked, rolling back over to watch him with a sad frown.

' _Don't you need to be healed?'_ I asked. His winces hadn't gone unnoticed.

"My injuries are almost fully healed. Now it is simply a matter of regaining my strength," he said, stepping towards the window. "I cannot afford to stay and be wrapped up in your human politics," he said, disdain tainting his voice. Was he talking about the International Police or the League?

He braced his arms on the windowsill and kicked out the remaining glass with a series of cracks. The shards of glass vanished into the night, and the sirens just got louder.

"I liked the company," Hilton muttered, watching Lawrence.

He stepped onto the sill, bending down to a crouch. He looked back at us, halfway out of the window. He opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of angry footsteps coming down the hall distracted us. When we looked back, Latios was gone.

The rest of the night passed in a swirl of police officers, doctors, and League members asking thousands of questions about what had transpired. Hilton glossed over Lawrence's role, just calling him a stranger who ran in, helped, and ran back out. If the League wanted to divulge Lawrence's true identity, that was their prerogative.

Hilton had to submit to even more testing, and upon learning Reliance had made special efforts to recover him, the League and the International Police agreed to post a guard outside our door. The broken glass was cleaned up, and some intern had taped a sheet of butcher paper on the window to cover the hole. Well, there went our nice city view. The hospital staff would've liked to move us to a different room, but since virtually every hospital in the city was at full capacity from the previous battle, it was impossible.

Several hours passed in that fashion, and as he first golden rays of sunlight hit the butcher paper, illuminating the room in a soft orange glow, I felt my lids start to grow heavy. Hilton had taken to faking sleep just to deter any more questioners, but by his soft but constant wheezing, I figured he must've actually fallen asleep. I yawned and wrapped the blanket around me even tighter. Finally, some peace and quiet.

I woke next to bits of murmured conversation. I opened my eyes, blinking in an attempt to get rid of the blur from sleep. Hilton was awake now and sitting upright in his bed. He'd already put his new glasses back on. A clear IV tube feed a saline solution into the crook of his arm. His entire body was tethered to dozens of wires, some connecting with his body in round tabs taped to head, arms, and chest, feeding information into pulsating monitors. The doctors had clamped a sensor on his pointer finger, leaving him to clumsily eat tomato soup with his other hand.

Besides the smell of food, the surplus of wires, and the nurses checking on us every five minutes or less, the other new addition to our living arrangement was a second door guard and a familiar pink-haired gym leader. Maylene knelt down at his bed side across the room from me, conversing with him in hushed tones.

"Lawrence said he could be anywhere by now," Hilton said, and Maylene nodded in agreement.

"Reliance moves fast. It wouldn't surprise me if they'd taken him to another region by now," she said grimly.

The hospital door open, and a thin man skirted past the beefy security guard and into our room. Burgh had recovered well from the battle. That pale, frazzled man we saw two nights ago seemed like a dream now. He looked healthily tan now, and his chestnut hair had been manicured back into perfect waves. A name-brand messenger bag wrapped across his torso, swinging at his side. He smiled with embarrassment as both humans turned to look at him.

"Mmm, I came to see the boy that chased after Elesa," he said in a normal speaking voice.

Maylene hushed him, pointing to me.

' _I'm awake now,'_ I said, stretching my arms above my head with a yawn.

Maylene smiled at me and pushed herself off the floor. "I think I'll go check on some of the other patients," she said, heading for the door.

Burgh caught her arm. "Can you stay for one moment more?" he asked.

She nodded, a curious expression played across her face. The small gym leader leaned against the wall with arms crossed to observe the scene.

Burgh thanked her and turned back to Hilton. "I come with gifts from the League," he said, reaching into his messenger bag. He pulled out a red cross-transceiver and handed it to Hilton. The boy took it and examined the device curiously.

"Now, I know it's a bit of a downgrade from a Holo Caster, but since the whole security issue with them and Team Flare, most of the League uses these for official business," he said apologetically, gesturing to the cross-transceiver. "Their company is headquartered here, so we managed to get a few extra. Since Reliance seems to be targeting you, we figured you might need a secure channel to call us on," he explained.

"This is awesome!" Hilton said, clicking the device on. He looked back up at Burgh with a wide grin. "This is way better than my old Pokétch! I can even make calls now!" Hilton said, turning the screen on with eager anticipation.

Maylene and Burgh looked at him like he just said he did his taxes on an abacus.

"P- pokétch?" Burgh repeated in disbelief.

Hilton just nodded and continued to fiddle with his new toy.

"Those are, like, what? Ten years old now?" Maylene said, trying to figure out if Hilton was joking or not. He wasn't.

"If you'll let me see it for a moment, I can input my number," Burgh said, clicking on his own cross-transceiver. Hilton, with a longing-look, slid the device off his wrist and relinquished back into Burgh's care. The gym leader immediately started fiddling with the buttons. Maylene hobbled over to stand by him.

"Me next!" she insisted, readying her own cross-transceiver. Burgh nodded, never looking up from the pair of screens.

"I'll forward your number to some of the other League members," Burgh said, "When they message you back, add them as contacts, m'kay?" he said, still pressing buttons.

Hilton nodded and sighed as he watched the gym leaders play with the devices. He reached over to the nightstand and clicked the TV off mute. A rather irate talk show host sat behind a desk while footage of the previous battle looped on a screen behind him.

"Frankly, this has to be some sort of joke!" the greasy show host spat. "We had the entire Pokémon League _and_ International Police in one city, and Reliance _still_ managed to slip through their fingers. Arceus, what does it take to get things done around here‽ Castelia is in shambles, and what do they have to show for it? A couple of captured grunts! Hardly the crippling blow to Reliance we needed," he finished as several unattractive pictures of League members flashed behind him.

Burgh and Maylene groaned in unison, finally looking up from the cross-transceivers to the television screen.

"In top of all that, Reliance managed a counterstrike late last night, managing to recover several of their captured grunts and re-kidnapping some of their former experiments right under the League's nose!" the host said, throwing his hands into the air.

I sat up straight at that. ' _That's why Cyan was here last night_ ,' I whispered.

Maylene nodded, leaning back against the wall. "We managed to stop most of them," she said, "but a few…" she trailed off, averting her eyes from the TV.

"When questioned," the host went on, "the League refused to say anything on the matter except that their official statement is going to be delayed even further. I'm sure the Castelia refugees are _thrilled_ about that. This is the Stan Taylor show. I'm Hoenn's Stan Taylor. Up after the break we have commentary from Independence about Battle Castelia, stay tuned!" A band started to play as the camera zoomed out to reveal a clapping live audience before the screen flashed to a commercial for luxury balls.

"Stan Taylor," Maylene growled, trying to focus on the cross-transceiver again, although she was jamming the buttons rather forcefully now.

"Figures he'd be all over this," Burgh commented, handing Hilton's new cross-transceiver back to him. "Along with all of PTV, NSN, Channel 3, Channel—"

"At least Pokémon TV is doing what we asked," Maylene said, turning her cross-transceiver off.

"I'm confused, what are they supposed to be doing?" Hilton asked, mirroring my sentiment as he strapped his new device onto his wrist.

Maylene just shook her head, massaging her temples.

Burgh spoke up. "The League asked the media to hold back on some of the coverage until we can sort out exactly what happened. Rumors are going around everywhere. Some people think the League is secretly allied with Reliance, and the Malva incident from a few years ago doesn't help. All this premature coverage is just making things worse, and no one in the League has had time to deal with it because we're all trying to rebuild Castelia's infrastructure as soon as possible," he finished, looking more pale and tired than ever.

Music rang from the TV, capturing all of our attention once again. "Aaaaand we're back," said Stan Taylor, smiling as the camera spun around him, allowing us to see his greased hair from new and exciting angles. "Ladies and gentlemen, give a big round of applause for Ms. Christine Allen!"

The studio audience began to clap as the head of Independence emerged from off screen. She waved at the audience, looking remarkably small and frail amidst the blinding studio lights and airbrushed faces. She sat in the armchair next to Stan, and it looked large enough to swallow her. Her flowing, pastel green shirt and matching skirt looked out of place against the sharp, angular lines of Stan's pressed suit. The host flashed the camera a winning smile before turning to his guest.

"So glad to have you with us today. Why don't you tell us a little about what Independence is doing in the wake of this tragedy?" he prompted.

She nodded her head before speaking, "Well, Independence is pouring our resources into the Castelia Relief effort, and we're always accepting donations on our website for that purpose. We've already got volunteers working throughout Castelia, trying to clear the rubble, get power back to the families that lost it, and just really assisting the League in any way we can," Ms. Allen said.

The screen behind the pair flashed to a view of a demolished Castelia street, crawling with volunteers in their signature pale-green t-shirts with the white Independence insignia flashing on the back—olive branches fashioned into a fleur-de-lis. The camera focused back in on Stan Taylor, who looked over as Ms. Allen.

"Any words for any Reliance grunts who may be watching?" he asked, obviously digging for some spiteful comment.

The woman just sighed, rubbing her lightly-wrinkled forehead. "Only several days ago did we find out about their atrocities in Sinnoh, and now this. It becomes increasingly clear with ever move Reliance makes how dangerous they are, and we cannot sit idly while their radical actions and ideals ruin the world, so many have tried to protect. Independence will assist the League and International Police in any way we can to stop these terrorists. The only-"

Burgh's cross-transceiver began to ring. "I can guess what this is about," he mumbled, excusing himself and closing the hospital door softly behind him.

Maylene turned her attention back on to The Stan Taylor Show.

"Now I know this may seem insensitive of me," he started-Maylene snorted at that-"But will Independence's assistance of Castelia delay the Poké Festival?"

Christine just smiled again. "I'm happy to tell you the Poké Festival preparations are ahead of schedule and running very smoothly. We refuse to let the attack on Castelia delay us," she said.

Maylene groaned. "Of course he only has the time to talk about how evil the League is, but, oh! Don't forget about the festival! People are being kidnapped and dying, but we can't forget the festival!" she mocked, face falling back into a scowl.

"Up next," Stan continued, "how deep does the League's corruption go? Are the champions involved? Is this going to be Giovanni Part Two? Join us after the break!" he said.

Maylene ground her teeth, turning away from the television to face Hilton. Graciously, he muted it again.

She released the tension in her jaw with a sigh, running her hands through her hair. "I wonder how PR plans to handle this one," she mumbled to herself. As if on cue, her cross-transceiver began to vibrate.

"Speak of the devil," she groaned, looking up at us with a wistful sigh. "I've got to take this," she explained, stepping towards the door. "No more wild antics, okay?" she said, hand on the door knob. "That goes for both of you," she added, locking eyes with me, finally allowing a small grin to break her scowl.

' _If I never see another Reliance grunt in my life, I'll be happy,'_ I said, collapsing back into the chair. She bid us farewell, and we were left alone again.

' _What time is it?'_ I asked Hilton, yawning. These days all I seemed to do was sleep. It was wonderful.

He toyed with his cross-transceiver, eventually managing to turn it on again. "3:04 pm," he read.

Silence lapsed between us, and while I was content in the quiet, his constant fidgeting indicated he felt differently. The Stan Taylor show continued playing on mute, occasionally casting a red glare on the room when he would flash a picture of one of the League members. As always, faint voices and muffled footsteps echoed from outside out door. The afternoon light blanketed the room in golden hues and warmed the air. I felt my eyelids start to droop again.

"I can't take it anymore!" Hilton said, startling me out of my half-sleep.

' _What are you on about now?'_ I asked, groaning internally.

"I've been in this room too loooooong. I gotta stretch my legsssss," he moaned, gently beating his head against the wall.

' _We've only been here a day and a half! If you need to stretch, just walk around!'_ I said incredulously, gesturing to the open space between the foot of the bed and the wall. I swear, if I had hair this boy would've made it fall out.

"We'll just sneak past the guard…" Hilton whispered, taking eager glances at the closed door.

' _There is no way that'll work! I'm not leaving this room! We practically caused the apocalypse last time, remember_ _‽_ _It's the whole reason we're back in the hospital! Not this time, Hilton. I'm staying right here,'_ I finished, settling deeper into the arm chair.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** Please Noël, stop this boy. He's a danger to himself and others. So now that were a decent way into the story (about 40%), who's your favorite and least favorite character? Who would make the best roommate? Which of these losers squeezes toothpaste from the middle of the tube? Trick question, they all do bc they're savages. Except Cenric who rolls from the bottom bc he's a perfect angel.

 **Fun Fact** : Spoiler: At the end of this Claire and Cyan both realize the share a deep love of interpretive dance and scat singing. They form a bond based on similar interests and defeat Reliance with the rhythm of their souls. Now you know.


	14. To Catch a Time God

**Chapter 14: To Catch a Time God**

 **(***)**

 **'** _I hate you_ ,' I told Hilton for the umpteenth time that hour.

The green-haired boy just laughed, and the movement almost sent me tumbling off his shoulders and onto the sidewalk.

Lawrence rolled his eyes, keeping his arms firmly crossed as he walked next to us, looking suitably irritated.

' _I could be asleep right now,'_ I lamented, twisting Hilton's laundered hoodie before my gaze shifted onto Lawrence. 'B _ut you just_ _ **had**_ _to up and spirit us away. They're probably looking for us already. I bet they think Reliance got us,'_ I moaned into the sky. I was so tired of people chasing us. If it wasn't Reliance, it was hospital staff.

"Nonsense," Lawrence said, turning his head to face forward again, giving me a stunning view of the back of his head. "I informed Maylene shortly before I "spirited you away"," he continued. Thankfully, Hilton had the time and sense to change from his hospital gown back into his street clothes.

 _'Why couldn't we just listen to the authorities for once_ _‽_ _Just one time is all I'm asking!'_ I continued. _'It's not like we were going to miss the meeting in the first place. They had the whole webcam set up and everything. Hilton needs to stay in the hospital, so there's just no reason to go there in person…unless…'_ A thought struck me like a punch to the gut. I looked to Lawrence with wide eyes. _'This isn't because…you're_ _ **curious**_ _about the League meeting, is it?'_ I asked, unable to keep the smirk off my face.

Lawrence maintained his gait several paces in front of us, staring straight ahead so I couldn't read his face, but the sliver of pale skin I could see between his mess of blue hair turned a shade redder.

I stifled a laugh. The big baby didn't want to show up to the League meeting alone! Then again, the idea that he broke Hilton out of a secure hospital room without concern for Hilton's medical welfare just so he wouldn't feel awkward was a little disquieting. The notion sobered me, and I redirected my attention to the passing scenery.

The sun's daily arc was drawing to a close, sinking behind the buildings to our left and dyeing the sky pale pink. Storeowners stood outside their open doors, notifying every passerby that despite the broken windows, they _were_ open for business. A light breeze danced down the street from the sea behind us, filling our noses with that familiar salty tang and ruffling Lawrence's hair. The gentle hum of conversation filled the air as people passed us, some jumping at Hilton's appearance, but he was too focused on his idle chat with Lawrence to notice.

The constant pounding of a jackhammer echoed from the next street over. Thankfully, Mode Street—being a direct route to the Pokémon Center—had been one of the first areas the Castelia clean-up crew focused on. With pokémon's assistance, the rubble was cleared, and the crew had roped off the areas where the new asphalt dried.

Lawrence sidestepped a pothole in the sidewalk, and I started to warn Hilton but—

"Whaaaa!" Hilton yelled, failing his arms for balance as the tip of his sneaker got caught in the edge of the pothole. He grabbed onto Lawrence, nearly taking them both down.

"Hilton!" Lawrence and I shouted in unison.

Hilton laughed as he finally regained his balance, while Lawrence tried to look dignified as he brushed the dust from his shoulders

' _Watch where you're going. I almost feel off that time!'_ I told Hilton, keeping an eye on the sidewalk ahead for anymore potholes.

"Perhaps now that you have evolved it is time for you to walk on your own," Lawrence said.

"You are a lot heavier now," conceded Hilton with a small wince. I huffed indignantly, but let Hilton pick me off his shoulder and put me down. He sighed in relief, stretching out his sore shoulder.

' _Oh, don't make such a fuss about it,'_ I said in irritation, swatting his leg and trying to stay balanced on my new legs.

We continued down the street, and now it was my turn to trip several times. Luckily I was always able to grab Hilton's leg for support before I hit the pavement. I watched the broken stores go by, most in the middle of repairs. Business men and women hurried past us, talking into their phones, construction works left the repair sites covered in white concrete dust, headed out for dinner, and a pack of teens skated past us towards Central Plaza.

"Hey, an ice cream stand!" Hilton cried, hobbling forward past us.

"Honestly," Lawrence mumbled with a sigh, trailing after him.

' _Hey! Wait up!'_ I cried, chasing the duo across the street. We arrived at the bubblegum pink stand breathless and sweaty. Hilton leaned over the counter, searching for any employees. With a sigh and an eye-roll, Lawrence tapped the bell, filling the air with a high-pitched ring.

A woman with frazzled hair and blood-shot eyes came from around side the stand, wearing an orange polo and a white apron with bright lettering printed across the front.

"I'm sorry, we're not open right now," she said running a hand through her mess of chestnut hair. She wiped her hands off on her apron before finally raising her head to face Hilton. He eyes widened and she jumped back with a little yelp, wide eyes flicking over his mutations. She pressed her hands to her mouth, stepping forward again. "Oh, Arceus, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" she said, fervent apologies muffled by her hands. She leaned into the counter for support. "I'm so sorry," she continued.

Hilton shrugged and reached into his backpack, pulling out the seviper mask. "I almost forgot," he said to Lawrence sheepishly, and pulled the elastic band behind his head, fixing the mask in place. White scratches marked where the plastic showed through, his battle scars from Battle Castelia. It wasn't pristine like that night in the contest hall, but it still concealed his face.

"Oh no! You don't have to do that!" the woman said, turning white from mortification. "I didn't expect—you just caught me by surprise is all!" she insisted.

Hilton just shrugged again. "It makes getting around easier. Less people stop and stare," he explained, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You're one of the trainers who escaped Reliance's labs, right? I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting—face—you—" she continued fumbling with words while avoiding looking at Hilton.

Hilton, however, didn't notice the woman, having become enraptured by the flavor listings instead. "You're really out of ice cream?" Hilton asked, frowning and finally looking up.

She nodded tiredly, massaging the bridge of her nose. "We've been trying to get power back all day, but as of now all the ice cream is melted," she explained.

"Don't you have pokémon for that?" Hilton asked, looking around for any signs of an ice-type.

"We have Vanillish, but even she can't keep the temperature down enough all day for ice cream, so we're selling Casteliashakes until we get full power back on," the woman said.

"I think I'll haveeee….chocolate chip cookie dough!" Hilton declared.

' _You know all the cookie chunks are going to sink to the bottom, right?'_ I asked him. He shrugged.

"And for you?" she asked, turning to Lawrence.

He shuffled uncomfortably. "I am afraid I am not carrying money at the moment," he explained, unable to meet her eyes.

She laughed, waving it off. "Don't worry about it. For you guys it's on the house."

"Then I will have dark chocolate crumble," he said, lifting his chin and trying to look as adult-like as possible.

She grinned and leaned over the counter to look at me, "And for you?"

I gave my order to Hilton, who relayed it to the woman. Several minutes later we were walking away from the stand with plastic cups full of liquid ice-cream in our hands.

"Ooh, look it's the park! It's right up there!" Hilton insisted, skipping forward. Golden evening light bathed the trees at the end of the street, by some miracle it looked like Battle Castelia had spared the bulk of Central Plaza. We crossed the busy street and made it to the park. Hilton paused, mesmerized by the fountain featuring statues of zekrom and reshiram.

That fountain was a work of art in itself and as grand as it was massive. Made of several marble tiers, the whole thing had to be at least twenty feet high. Golden effigies of Reshiram and Zekrom circled in midflight. Reshiram blew glass fire that encircled the pedestal on which two twin humans stood, hands locked together and swords raised high.

Hilton whistled in amazement, but because of his deformed lips it came out as more of a hiss.

Smooth jets of water sprouted from the tier Reshiram and Zekrom rested on, encircling them in bubbling pillars of water that flowed over to the tier below, dancing around the feet of the other pokémon. Several more jets erupted from the pond on timers.

A stream gurgled to life two feet in front of us, and Hilton jumped back. He laughed and wiped the drops of water off his mask before twisting it, so it rested on the side of his face, giving him full access to his mouth. He shoveled spoonfuls of the shake down his throat, sticky drops landing on his hoodie. I shuddered at his eating habits then noticed Lawrence hadn't touched his shake at all. The plastic cup forgotten in his hand. I looked up to see him staring intently at something, and I followed his gaze to the ornate fountain.

' _Have you met them?'_ I asked Lawrence quietly.

His scarlet eyes drifted from the statues to me, a question in them.

' _Reshiram and Zekrom,'_ I clarified.

He turned back to the golden statues, slowly running his eyes over them. A young child ran up to the fountain, pressing a button that caused a circle of jets to shower around the base. They spun and danced, catching the fading light in their spray.

"No," Lawrence finally said, exhaling deeply. "As you know, they created the Unova region, but after conflict arose they became dormant. It was only several years ago that the Plasma boy and the previous Unova champion revived them. I believe they are still accompanying trainers," he said.

"Like Dialga and Claire!" Hilton volunteered.

Lawrence frowned at that, staring intently at the intertwined statues.

"She caught him last year," Hilton continued, downing the rest of his shake with a noisy slurp.

' _She didn't_ _ **catch**_ _him. You're telling the story all wrong,'_ I insisted.

Hilton opened his mouth to object, but something stopped him. He closed his mouth, and frowned. Eyebrows furrowing behind his new glasses. "Why don't you tell the story from your perspective, Noël," he finally said.

I cocked my head curiously. Normally Hilton was the first to volunteer information when it came to anything Claire-related, and I was forced to correct him. ' _If that's the way you want it,'_ I said with a shrug. I mulled the story over in my mind. When you were talking about a time-travelling monster, it was difficult to find a place to begin.

' _Well,'_ I started with a deep breath, ' _I guess this actually started a few years before I was born, but it also kinda hasn't happened yet.'_

Lawrence looked up at that, watching me.

"Wait, what? I haven't heard this part," Hilton said, scratching his head.

"Dialga controls time. Manipulating the time stream is simple for him," Lawrence grumbled, annoyed by the interruption.

I nodded and continued, ' _So a few years before Claire got me, Dialga appeared to Claire and told her something like "when I offer you a choice in the future, take it" or something.'_

Hilton massaged his temple, "Ooh, this is already a confusing."

"Keep going," Lawrence said.

' _Right, so fast forward a few years to after Claire get me-no wait-let's go way back. Were you guys alive for the original Team Galactic incident?'_

Hilton started counting back on his fingers.

"Ten years ago," Lawrence said, and Hilton put his fingers down with a little pout.

' _From what Claire told me, back then some guy named Citrus tried—'_ Hilton snorted, but I ignored him and continued ' _-to summon Dialga and Palkia using the Red Chain, it broke and Giratina sucked him into the distortion world. So the Red Chain shatters, and pieces of it are scattered all over Sinnoh.'_

"Claire found all the pieces?" Lawrence whispered, running his thin hands through his hair.

I shook my head, ' _Some Poké Maniac had been trying to find them all since the original Galactic incident, but he only managed to find a few. So this fifty-year-old human tried to scale Mt. Coronet by himself, and ends up breaking his leg. That's when Claire and I found him. So she has to stop her training and help the old guy all the way down and to the hospital. It was miserable,'_ I said remembering those several days and shuddering.

"You still have not explained how she captured Dialga," Lawrence said, rubbing his temples.

' _I'm getting to it,'_ I huffed _. 'So we get the guy to the hospital and_ _his wife comes in and starts yelling at him,'_ I grinned at the memory _, 'the doctor tells him the injury is pretty bad, and he probably wouldn't be able to climb any more mountains. That's when he gives his portion of the Red Chain to Claire, and let me tell you this guy looked crazed. He had these dark circles under his eyes, and this wild beard. He pulls her close and tells her she has to make it to the top. Now, Claire and I both think he's bonkers, but Claire remembers that run in with Dialga she had a few years before.'_

"That's when I got there," Hilton mumbled.

' _Yeah,'_ I said bitterly, crossing my arms. ' _We tried to go up the mountain alone, but he followed us, even though his only pokémon is weak,'_ I said. Mt. Coronet was a terrifying place with insanely strong pokémon. I hated every moment I spent there.

"Look who's talking," Hilton said with a mischievous grin.

' _Hey! I have evolved,'_ I said, gesturing to my new body.

"Get on with it," Lawrence growled.

' _Fine, fine. So about half-way up we hear this awful screaming. That's when we found Hilton. He had got his leg stuck and was screaming like he was possessed,'_ I explained. Hilton shuffled uncomfortably at that.

Ignoring him, I continued. ' _Claire helped him and told him to go down the mountain, but since he never listens, he followed us anyway._ _We had to drag him along with us up to the summit, but when we get to the summit, Claire tells him he's gotta wait there while she explores Spear Pillar. She doesn't want him destroying the birthplace of Sinnoh, right? And just to make sure he won't come, she lets Luxray and Roserade guard him._ _So we get to Spear Pillar and the piece of the red chain we have starts to vibrate.'_

"I thought you said you only had a fraction of the red chain," Lawrence said, calmer now and trying to work this out in his mind.

I nodded. ' _Isn't that weird? It shouldn't have had the power to summon anything, but lo and behold, Dialga pops out from another dimension_ _howling and screaming. I tell Claire we should run, but Claire, even though she's terrified, tells Dialga that he's met her a few years ago. This calms him down as he thinks about it. She tells him what he told her, 'if I offer you a choice in the future, take it'. He thinks about this and says he hasn't made that trip yet, but it must be important. Then he asks Claire to let him observe her. She said yes, of course, I mean, how can you refuse a time god?'_

"Observe her?" Lawrence questioned.

' _Yeah,'_ I said nodded. ' _He wanted to know what his future self thought was so important, so he used one of her poké balls, and—'_

"I told you she caught him," Hilton whispered to Lawrence.

' _I wasn't like that!'_ I said throwing my hands into the air. ' _It's not like he can just stomp around after her waiting for something important to happen; people would swarm him everywhere, so he made Claire use one of her poké balls on him as sort of a transportation device.'_

"Made? Claire was not honored to help the god of time?" Lawrence asked aghast.

I laughed nervously, kicking my feet. ' _You sound a lot like him. You haven't met Claire, but training and earning gym badges is important to her._ _ **Really**_ _important to her,'_ I stressed. ' _She figured having Dialga around would just complicate things and he took up her last team slot,'_ I said, twisting my hands. I didn't mention the second-to-last slot had been taken by me.

"Why didn't she ever go to the Pokémon Center and request special permission to carry more than six poké balls?" Hilton asked, scratching his nose.

"Go to the Pokémon Center and tell them Dialga had sent her on some sort of mission that will happen at an undetermined point in the future?" Lawrence questioned dryly, raising thin eyebrow, and Hilton flushed. Lawrence turned back to me. "And on the way down Reliance ambushed you?" he asked.

' _Not quite,'_ I said cringing. I purposefully left out our descent because of the bad memories for everyone involved. ' _On the way down Hilton did one of his surprise hug and sent us all over the cliff.'_ My stomach dropped as the memories flashed to the surface. The force of his body collided with us, me in Claire's arms. The sky flashed above us. I remember the feeling of being suspended in mid air. Then we hit the side of the cliff. Then blood.

' _It wasn't too big of a drop, but that's how my poké ball broke and Claire got that big scar on her leg. When we find her, I'm sure she'll show it to you if you ask,'_ I said, trying to push the ambulance trip and flurry of doctors and nurses from my memory.

"I'm really sorry," Hilton whispered, unable to meet my eyes. "I just remember anything so differently, but when you say it like that…"

' _It's the truth,'_ I insisted. ' _It wasn't your Claire. It was_ _ **the**_ _Claire. The real one.'_ Hilton got quiet at that, and his eyes slipped out of focus. I saw Lawrence inhale, opening his mouth to prod me forward, but I began again before he had the chance. ' _So we travel with Dialga for a few more months, and Dialga just watches things from inside his poké ball. Cyan—that pale lady who works for Reliance,'_ I started to explain.

"I know who Cyan is," Lawrence interrupted, eyes narrowed at the memory of her.

I inched away from him at the furious undertones that spiked her name. ' _So Cyan approaches Claire a few times, asking her to join Reliance and Claire says no every time. She must've known about Dialga,'_ I mused. Why other reason would Reliance send someone like Cyan after Claire? ' _About—'_ I paused to count the days on my fingers ' _—a week ago? Arceus, has it only been a week?'_ I asked. It had felt like months.

"Don't use Arceus's name in vain," Latios snapped.

' _Sorry!_ ' I yelped, throwing up my hands defensively. ' _Anyways, so a week ago Claire, Hilton and I are all down by Sunyshore and Cyan comes out one last time, but she has her two goons and a ton of grunts with her. They attack us, Dialga gets released somehow, and I think he used Roar of Time? After that I passed out, and you know the rest,'_ I finally finished.

"And now Reliance has Dialga," Lawrence concluded.

I nodded, taking a spoonful of my Casteliashake. A flock of pidove took flight from a tree behind us in a flutter of wings, soaring into the twilight. The sun vanished beneath the horizon, leaving Castelia in dusky shades of violet. Inside Central Plaza Castelia's natural city noises were dulled. The jackhammers and sounds of construction seemed like an afterthought among the rustling of leaves, quiet conversations, and spray of the fountain.

"It does not make sense," Lawrence mumbled, absently stirring his shake. "If they have Dialga under their control, why not alter the time stream?" he asked no one in particular.

"Maybe they have," Hilton finally spoke up, "Maybe this is the altered time stream where they take over the world," he said, eyes wide. Lawrence and I just stared at him. He shrugged. "It was just a suggestion."

"Perhaps they do not have control over him," Lawrence said, nearly dropping his shake at the realization and causing all of us to pause. "They only have a fraction of the Red Chain. They can subdue him, but not control him!" Lawrence said, beginning to pace fervently as Hilton and I watched. "Most likely, they are working on a way to control him now…" He sighed, leaning back to stare at the star-speckled sky with tired eyes. "I suppose this does not change much," he said, wind tossing as his cerulean hair.

Lawrence's red eyes flicked over to me and Hilton. "Have you ever considered the possibility that this Claire woman is working for Reliance?" he asked slowly.

My instant protests caught in my mouth as visions of Hilton and I's mutual hallucination two nights ago flashed through my head. _'That was just a dream!'_ I finally managed, _'Claire probably was never in Castelia to begin with,'_ I mumbled.

"Yeah!" Hilton added.

"That may be so, but Reliance has a way of…infecting the mind like a virus," Lawrence said, expression neutral. "What will you do if the next time you see her is on opposing sides on the battlefield?" he asked, watching our reactions with narrow calculating eyes.

The very idea made me nauseous.

"Doesn't matter, because it won't happen," Hilton said, crossing his arms. "I may be… _confused_ about Claire, but I know she's not like that!" he finished.

' _Y-yeah, Claire would die before joining up with them,'_ I added, but then the truth of my own words hit me. Silence fell and Hilton and I looked to each other with worried expressions. If Reliance tried to force her to join, she would…

"We've got to stop Reliance," Hilton said, and Lawrence finally hummed in agreement. We? Why us? I'd be happy to just find Claire and let the League take care of the rest, unless the rumors were true and the League was secretly allied with Reliance. If that were the case…

My visions of fire and brimstone were broken by a series of people walking past holding candles. Lawrence and I sipped at our shake while we watched more candle-holders pass in front of us, flames flickering in the evening air. They began to gather twenty feet away from us, setting their candles on the ground or on the edge of the fountain. The spectacle drew in curious onlookers, and the crowd soon blocked our view. Only the golden glow of candle leaked out of the mass of bodies.

"Here, Noël," Hilton said, taking my empty shake cup and placing it in his own, "let's go toss these and see what they're up to," he said, breaking away from Lawrence's side. Sure. Why not. I hopped down, but the impact was heavier than expected and sent me tumbling to the pavement.

' _I hate this bodyyyy,'_ I moaned, pulling myself up and eyeing my stinging knees. Lawrence took a large swig of his chocolate shake to try and hide his smile.

 _'It's funny for you because you won't ever evolve!'_ I accused, hobbling over to Hilton.

"I am no stranger to form-changes," he reminded me.

I flushed. Of course, he'd know. He was in his human form now. The shift from latios to human was even more drastic than ralts to kirlia. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Hilton dragged me away.

"Come on, come on!" he said, limping towards the metal trash can.

' _Hilton, your mask,'_ I reminded him. He paused, turning his mask so it covered his mutation once more. After dropping our trash in the bin, we wove our way through the crowd.

"Can you see, Noël?" Hilton asked, standing up on tip-toe. ".Noël?" He looked down at me.

All the blood drained out of my body, leavening rooted in one spot. My mouth dried out. My body felt hot and sweaty, but my limbs were chilled and clammy.

"Noël?"

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but you just read this chapter, so leave a review maybe?

 **Fun Fact** : Jk on those last two fun facts. The real truth is that Hilton is Arceus in disguise and the entire Reliance plot is just a trick to test Noël. If he passes, Arceus will make him his successor and bequeath him god-like powers to fight the dangers of high cholesterol.


	15. Parks and Politics

**Chapter 15: Parks and Politics**

 **(***)**

"Noël?" Hilton prompted again, nudging me gently with his leg.

' _We have to leave!'_ I hissed, jumping back to hide behind his legs. My stomach twisted into anxious knots as I tugged at his cargo pants.

"What? Why? What's going on? Can you see?" he asked, craning his head.

' _Yessss! We have to leave. Now!'_ I said, peaking around his legs once more. Through the tangle of legs I saw a form, bathed in golden candlelight and just as beautiful. Spinning and twirling as if gravity had made an exception just for her. It was the shiny kirlia from two nights ago. Lunette.

Her amber eyes met mine for a fraction of a second. Screeching, I flung myself behind Hilton. I couldn't let her see me! In a crowd this large she probably couldn't sense me via telempathy, but I could only be safe if we got away.

"Excuse me, Miss," Hilton said, tapping the shoulder of a woman standing next to him. "Do you know what's going on?"

"They're advertising their charity contest, isn't that nice?" she said.

"Charity contest?" Hilton asked.

The woman nodded. "They're having a special contest at the contest hall. They tell me Burgh and some of his guests will even be performing. All the money they get from the tickets goes to the Castelia relief effort," she explained.

"Ohhhh," Hilton said, then, "Ohhhh," he repeated, glancing at me with mischievous gleam in his eyes. "There wouldn't happen to be a shiny kirlia, would there?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, I saw her a minute ago. Isn't she something?" the lady said.

"I dunno, what do you think, Noël?" he asked, prodding me with his shoe.

' _Stop!'_ I pleaded, ' _Let's just get back to Lawrence.'_ I couldn't let her see me like this! I was a mess! I probably had ice cream all over my face, and to make matters worse I couldn't even walk straight! She was over there, the epitome of grace and poise, and I…

I tore away from Hilton, face burning hot.

"Noël? Hey, Noël come back! I was just kidding!" Hilton called, but I just kept stumbling towards the edge of the crowd. The moment I cleared the last pair of legs, a hoard of young pokémon jumped in front of me.

"Hey, can you tell us where they're selling those shakes? My trainer wants to know," said a lillipup, blocking my path.

"I, uh, I-I don't—I'm not" I fumbled, growing even redder.

"It is a short distance down Mode Street," said a voice. I jumped, surprised to see Lawrence standing next to me. The pokémon thanked him and scampered off.

' _Thanks,'_ I said, and began to pace, trying to calm myself down.

"You do not too well under pressure," Lawrence commented.

' _Yeah, tell me something I don't know,'_ I mumbled.

"She's very beautiful," he noted casually, a twinkle in his eyes.

' _Not you too! Is this pick-on-Noël day?'_ I asked the sky. Lawrence tossed his empty cup in the trash in a surprising show of dexterity for someone who wasn't born human. Hilton made his way back to us with a yawn.

"Alright, the League meeting is going to start soon'ish. You guys ready to head that way?" Hilton asked, double checking the time on his new cross-transceiver. I made a pointed effort to look anywhere but Lunette's direction as we exited the park. The GPS built into Hilton's cross-transceiver allowed us to navigate Castelia's maze of streets, though we had to occasionally had to take detours for construction, or crawl over rubble.

"Look!" Hilton said, pointing out a crowd of humans in khaki pants and pale green T-shirts. "Those must be the Independence volunteers," Hilton explained to Lawrence, who just eyed the volunteers with a guarded expression.

Hilton waved at them as we passed.

Twenty minutes later, and covered in a fine coat of dirt, we arrived at Castelia's city hall. Massive marble columns supported the entrance to large a three story building. The centermost section of the building held a dome shaped roof, and smaller statues of Reshiram and Zekrom topped that, supporting the Unova flag. Streetlamps and spotlights hidden in the topiary illuminated the building.

Oblivious to the grandeur, Hilton headed for the flights of marble stairs to the wide doors. Several bulky security guards and their pokémon blocked the entrance.

" 'scuses us, gentlemen," Hilton said, trying to slide by, but the man put his arm out, preventing him from continuing.

"No one gets in without a pass," the guard gruffed, looking at our ragtag band skeptically. "Especially not anyone wearing a full face mask," he added, narrowing his eyes at Hilton.

"Oops! Sorry!" Hilton said, quickly sliding the mask to the side of his head. The guard couldn't hide his sharp intake of breath, eyes roaming over Hilton's malformed features. "I'm one of the trainers who escaped the base in Sinnoh," Hilton explained. "Maylene knows us! Oh, and so does Burgh! Anddd I bet Cynthia would recognize me and Steven too! And—"

"Alright, alright," the man cried, "You can wait in the lobby until we can confirm your identity, got it?" he grumbled. With a grin Hilton heaved the door open, allowing Lawrence and I to enter the city hall before the door slammed behind us.

The lobby was chaos.

Frazzled assistants and men in suits ran everywhere, some holding trays of coffee or large stacks of files. I recognized several members of the International Police in their signature brown uniforms and trench coats, along with members of the Castelia police force in dark blue uniforms. Two particularly irritated officers were escorting a reporter out.

"Just one word with Cynthia, and I'll be out of your hair!" he said as they tossed him out. Maintenance workers wheeled large screens across the polished floor, dragging lengths of black cording behind them. A pale secretary hissed into the phone.

"I told you no nuts! Flannery is allergic! You'll have to take them back and remake them all…..Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think you wanted an important gym leader to go into hypoallergenic shock at a time like this! My mistake!" she said, slamming the phone down.

"This way," Hilton said, leading us across the floor. I followed, barely managing to dodge to flood of aides as they raced up the spiral staircases with packs of bottled water. Hilton continued straightforward, pushing open a pair of wooden doors in the back of the lobby.

A blast of broiling air buffeted us as she pushed open the door, carrying with it the sounds of even more chaos. The council chambers resembled a small auditorium. At the very front sat two rows of curved desks, behind which several Elite Four members sat, along with Cynthia, Steven Stone, and Iris. A jumble of gym leaders occupied the rows of seats that radiated out and up from the center. The large screens I'd seen in the lobby rested on carts around the sides of the room, playing a livestream of the gym leaders who couldn't attend in person. I spotted several fellow lab escapees scattered amongst the chaos.

The air felt hot and clung to my skin. The smell of sweat mixed with mahogany, and I blessed Arceus for the water bottles the aides passed around. The frustration in the room was tangible even for someone without telempathy. Gym leaders talked loudly between themselves. Some conversations more benign than others.

"Hilton!" cried a familiar voice, and a dash a magenta sliced through the crowd. A furious Maylene planted her hands on her hips, scowling at us.

"Wha-?" Hilton started, but she cut him off.

"You think Lawrence's "I'm taking them now" is good enough? You can't just leave the hospital without telling anyone! The nurses said you ripped out your own IV again! Hilton when you ripped out those cords all your vitals flat lined, and you can imagine what chaos that caused!" she ranted.

"Lawrence said he told you!" Hilton managed, looking back for the legendary's support, but the faux-child had vanished, leaving an empty space in his place.

"He was right here, I swear!" Hilton cried, spinning around.

"It doesn't matter, Hilton! We've got to get you back to the hospital," Maylene said, running her hands through her hair. "Why didn't you answer your cross-transceiver?"

Before he could answer, Maylene grabbed his wrist. I was rather upset when she went for his cross-transceiver instead of flipping him over her head in a display of raw fighting power. "It's on silent," she exclaimed, flicking Hilton's shoulder in punishment.

"Ow!" he said, jumping back.

"Don't be a baby," she growled, turning his cross-transceiver off silent. "Now, stand right there while I grab someone to take you back to Castelia General," she said.

"Wait, Maylene, please!" Hilton begged, desperation leaking into his voice.

"Hilton, you could take a turn for the worse any moment, and if the doctors aren't right there—"

"Please, Maylene! I've been stable since I broke out of the base in Sinnoh! Ask the doctors! I'll go back to the hospital willingly, I promise. Just…just let me stay for a little while. If something feels off, I'll go back to the hospital right then, but…Reliance has hurt so many people that are important to me…I-I need to know someone's doing something about them," he said, voice going soft.

Maylene crossed her arms, but her scowl lessened. "And you can't do that over video chat like our original plan?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's different," he managed, "Please, Maylene…If the doctors have their way, I'll be stuck quarantined in that hospital room for the next five years. I'm so sick of swabs being shoved down my throat and being stabbed with needles," he mumbled, tracing the band-aids that covered his fingertips. "Soon the League will leave Castelia, so…just give me a couple hours?" he asked, dragging his eyes off the floor and to her face.

"Fine," she grumbled, shoving her hands in her pockets and still wearing a displeased expression. "Follow me, and I'll go explain the situation," she said, leading us to the front of the auditorium. Burgh waved as us as we passed, giving us a reassuring smile.

"I found them," Maylene announced, finally coming to a stop in front of Cynthia. The champion sat cross-legged on top of the desk, and Steven was lounging in the chair beside her.

"Nice mask," he mouthed to Hilton.

"Apparently Latios saw me coming and bolted," Maylene said bitterly. Cynthia sighed, absently playing with her blonde tresses.

"You can have that seat near the end," Cynthia said to Hilton, pointing to the end of the desk. "Diantha can't make it in person," she explained. "We're on break while we wait for dinner. We ordered Tai food if you would like any," she offered.

"I had dessert in the park, thanks" Hilton said.

"Tai food?" Steven repeated, cocking his head, "I thought we ordered pizza?"

Cynthia laughed. "I guess we'll find out within the next-" she paused to check her cross-transceiver, "five minutes," she said and turned back to Hilton and I. "Just take a seat, after we get everyone fed and the meeting starts again it'll calm down."

The champion then focused her attention back onto the gym leader before her. "Thank you, Maylene. You've been an enormous help. You can go sit down now," she said with a soft smile. Maylene thanked Cynthia, gave us a quick goodbye, and ran off to join the cluster of Sinnoh gym leaders. Hilton reached after, about to ask her if she could stay, but thought better of it. I wish he hadn't; being up here with the elite four members and champions made me nervous.

After thanking Cynthia one last time, we walked towards the end of the arced conference table. Will was attempting to entertain Lorelei and Glacia with card tricks, while Lucian and Shauntal talked books. The other members were either absent, or simply out for a moment. Awkwardly, Hilton shuffled past the most powerful trainers in the world to the last seat in the row. He sat in the rolling chair, lifting me off the floor to sit on the desk. What were we doing? We didn't belong here with them. Hilton only had one pokémon and could barely battle, and I only evolved because I got thrown into a door frame. I wished Lawrence or Cenric were here.

It was a blessing from Arceus the two chairs to our right were empty. We wouldn't be forced to make small talk with the any elite four members. If only Claire were here. She would've done anything to be in the presence of such talented trainers, not to mention the chance of conversation with them. A hard ball formed in my stomach. I missed her.

"I'm sorry, young man, but could you please excuse me?" said a warm voice, snapping me and Hilton from our thoughts.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Hilton said, spinning his chair sideways so the woman could slip by.

She took the seat next to us, laying her beautifly-patterned purse across the desk. She unwrapped her shawl, draping it over the chair's back, and brushed off her flowing blouse.

"It's a little frightening being up here with all them, isn't it?" she asked, placing her folded hands in her lap.

"Oh, you're Ms. Allen! The independence lady! We saw you on the TV this morning," Hilton exclaimed.

She grimaced at that. "Stan Taylor is quite the personality, isn't he?" she said, wringing her hands.

"I thought that show was based in Hoenn?" Hilton asked, cocking his head.

"Oh, it is," she said, with a yawn and a stretch. "It was an eight-hour flight, and as soon as we landed I took a taxi here, so you'll have to forgive me for being a little jetlagged," she said.

Hilton nodded wisely before snapping his fingers, "Oh, and we saw your grunts on the way here!" Hilton said.

"We don't call them grunts, just volunteers," she corrected kindly, "Calling them grunts make us feel a little too much like a villainous team," she confessed with a small laugh.

"But villainous teams don't host the Poké Festival," Hilton pointed out before leaning in, taking suspicious glances at everyone nearby. "So can you give me any insider info on this year's Poké Festival?" he whispered.

She smiled, leaning back. "Sorry, my lips are sealed," she said.

"Aww, really?" Hilton moaned. "Not even a little secret?"

She shrugged, "Who knows? I can't say," she said with a playful grin. "I'm sorry, but my memory is already going on me, remind me again what you're here to tell the League?" she asked, placing a soft hand on Hilton's shoulder.

"Oh, you know," Hilton said casually, "just the super-secret Reliance meeting we discovered," he said, folding his hands behind his head. "No biggie."

Christine gasped, covering her mouth with her fingertips. "You're joking!" she insisted, bumping his upper arm teasingly.

"No, really! They were talking about plans and everything. Even Cyan was there," Hilton said, looking to me for confirmation. I nodded my head, though even now I could hardly believe it was the truth.

"What else did you learn? Did you find out who their leader is? Does the League know?" she asked eagerly.

Hilton shrunk at that, scratching the back of neck in embarrassment. "Well, it was kinda dark, and Saturn was trying to kill me, so I didn't see all that much…but we do know people like Saturn, Colress, and I think it was…Shelby are admins, and Cyan is important too," he explained.

"That's all you know?" she asked, with a small frown.

"They're also catching a lot of legendaries for some reason," Hilton said with a shrug, "Dunno why," he finished, laying back in his chair.

Christine thought about that, tapping a quiet rhythm on the desk with her index finger. She was about to say something, when a musical jingle interrupted her. With a quiet "oh dear", she dug through her purse, pulling out a vibrating Holo Caster.

"You'll have to excuse me again," she said, standing up with Holo Caster in hand, "I should take this before the meeting starts," she said, scooting by Hilton. She made her way past the gym leaders and towards the back door, squeezing past the chain of deliverymen to exit the council chamber and disappearing from our sight.

The deliverymen carried stacks of both pizza and Tai food, handing them out as quickly as they could or else be trampled by a mob of starving gym leaders. I spied a flash of magenta in the crowd, and watched Maylene sneak away with three whole pizzas to herself.

Half an hour later, the gyms leaders were contented, Christine Allen had returned, and I had two slices of cheese pizza in my stomach. Hilton managed to doze off even with the clamor, leaving me alone to my thoughts. Christine tapped away at her PDA, occasionally making faces at the screen.

A loud high-pitched whine broke my train of thought, scarring me so much that I almost rolled off the desk. I saw Hilton jolt awake in the corner of my eye.

Testing testing, one two three," Cynthia said into a mic, her voice reverberated around the chamber, ending the last bits of conversation, "Alright everyone, look around you and make sure everyone who should be here is," she said, causing the audience to swivel their heads in unison. Most of the screens displayed the faces of tired-looking gym leaders.

"Are we still trying to get a hold of the professors?" Cynthia asked one of the maintenance crew as he walked past.

"Yeah, but remember because of the time zones it's 2:00 in the morning there," he said.

Cynthia nodded, holding her forehead in on hand. "Oh!" she said, grinning, "Do we have Gary Oak?" she asked, searching the screens for the brunet. "Someone ask him if he can get to his grandfather. Did we fix the link between us and Hoenn's parliament?" she asked, turning back to the maintenance worker.

"They can see us, but we can't see them," he said, "we've been working on that connection for hours," he explained, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Alright," Cynthia said, leaning into the microphone, "Can the representatives from the International Police, and any government representatives come sit in the front rows like you did this afternoon? That worked well last time," she said, trying to direct the mass of people in front of us. "Oh, and can we get the screens with champions, elite four members, and government heads back behind us on stage?"

"Well this is a mess," said Hilton, watching the pandemonium.

"Meetings like this don't happen very often," Christine said, "and when they do they're planned and prepared weeks in advance in a larger space," she said, looking at the scene with an amused smile.

"You know," Hilton said, resting his head in his hands, "I never wanted to be a gym leader before, but after seeing all this I _really_ don't want to be one," he finished. It took another twenty minutes to get everyone situated, and even then some leaders were missing as evidence by the several black screens. Half the audience was yawning by the time Cynthia finally announced the meeting had resumed.

' _I understand why Lawrence left,'_ I said to Hilton as Cynthia acknowledged every new guest.

"And joining us near the end is Ms. Allen, head of Independence. I'd like to thank her and her organization for everything they have done to help the people of Castelia," Cynthia said, gesturing to Christine and inducing a round of applause.

Christine stood up, smiling and giving a slight bow to the audience. She seated herself, leaning in to her mic. "I can't help but feel like this is partially our responsibility. My organization just grew so quickly, and everyone has just been so supportive, Reliance grew out of that, and I wonder if we had just…ah, but I'm rambling again," she said with an embarrassed wave of her hand, "rest assured, Independence plans to do whatever we can to assist the regional governments, the League, and the International Police to put an end to Reliance's antics. Thank you." The end of her impromptu speech was met with another round of applause.

"And last but not least," Cynthia said gesturing to Hilton, "to her left, I'd like to introduce Hilton, who was one of the trainers who escaped from the first base in Sinnoh, was the first to learn about the Reliance base in Castelia, and walked into a Reliance admin meeting. He promised he'd tell that story again tonight," the blonde champion said.

' _Stand up,'_ I hissed at him, shrinking under the staring audience.

Hilton jumped out of his seat, knocking it over in the process and sending it clattering to the ground. The noise echoed around the silent room. I buried my burning face in my hands. This couldn't be happening.

 **(***)**

Review?

 **Fun Fact** : Fine, I'll tell you the real ending. The entire story is a day dream from a sentient toothbrush who uses it as an escape to survive the trials of his everyday life. Sorry for the spoiler. I just thought I'd prepare you for what's coming.


	16. A Rooftop Rendezvous

**A/N:** Two chapters today bc I forgot last week (whoops)

 **Chapter 16: A Rooftop Rendezvous**

 **(***)**

The first portion of the League meeting lasted four hours. I was only conscious for half that time, but Hilton was forced to stay awake for all of it, answering occasional questions. Now gym leaders roamed around the auditorium while on recess. A bad electrical storm had knocked out the power on the Hoenn gym leaders' ends, so we were breaking until the connection could be repaired. Christine Allen had left to take another call, and most of the League members seemed content to give us space.

"It was all really confusing," Hilton went on, "The Hoenn parliament couldn't decide whether it was a crisis or not, so they didn't know whether to elect a temporary president."

' _What does that have to do with Reliance?'_ I asked with a yawn.

Hilton shrugged, "Things got really crazy when I mentioned the thing about the science bases," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

' _What science thing? Was I asleep by then?'_ I asked.

"You know, remember back in the Reliance meeting? One of the admins said to transfer us to the Kanto or Johto bases because they had the best science department or whatever," he said, gesturing with a hand.

' _Are you sure that happened? I don't remember it…'_ I said skeptically. Hilton had a penchant for making things up, most notably his romance with Claire.

"It did! I promise! And everyone went crazy because no one thought Reliance had many bases there, and it's _right_ by the Indigo Plateau. Christine—I mean Ms. Allen lives in Kanto, did you know that?" he asked, glancing around for the blonde woman.

' _Nope.'_

"Well she said some of her Independence volunteers have seen more Reliance grunts around Kanto, but she didn't think anything about it until now, so the League decided to focus their efforts there," he explained. "On the bright side, they said they were done questioning me, so maybe we can start looking for Claire and Cenric again," he said.

' _What about your promise to Maylene to go back to the hospital?'_ I asked, narrowing my eyes. _'Besides, where would we go? Scour the rest of Unova or go with the League and explore Kanto?'_ Truthfully, we'd found the other Reliance bases mostly on accident. I wouldn't know how to begin finding one on purpose.

"Oh, Maylene will forget about that in a day. And I hear Kanto's not too bad this time of year," Hilton added with a grin.

' _The whole League is going to be there soon, what good could one human and one kirlia do?'_ I asked. Honestly, this boy was going to get us killed.

Hilton groaned, laying back in his chair. "Oh, you didn't hear them, Noël. They've spent most of their time so far trying to define 'crisis'! At the rate these meetings are going to take weeks. You know how important it is to save Claire and Cenric as quickly as possible," he said.

' _They can wait a week!'_ I insisted.

Hilton scowled at that, leaning in close. "Noël, they did this to me three days after Cyan kidnapped us," he growled, jabbing a finger at his own face. His anger only made the hissing undertones to his voice worse.

I shrunk away at his anger. He had a point, but he needed to reason! _'Hilton, e_ _ven after the League leaves Castelia, you have to stay in here in the hospital. The doctors still aren't even sure what Reliance_ **did** _to you. It could be killing you!'_

"What‽" Hilton cried, putting his hands on his head, "Not you too! Are you kidding me‽ I can just sit here while Reliance experiments on them! They probably look like me or worse by now! We've got to find them!"

' _Even forgetting the health risks for a moment—which we're not—'_ I said, _'Reliance still wants us you back. We're targets, remember? That whole Cyan-breaks-into-our-hospital-room-at-3am-thing_ _‽_ _Can't we just let the League handle it? Just this once?'_ I begged.

Hilton sputtered, face growing red, "The League isn't looking for Claire and Cenric, they just want to stop Reliance!" he accused. "You know that!"

' _What do you think you can do, Hilton?'_ I asked, throwing up my hands in exasperation, _'Storm bases alone? Fight the dragon and save the princess? Stop trying to be the hero! You aren't Lawrence! You're not Maylene! You're not even Cenric! Drifloon and I can't hold our own in a fight! You're just going to get us captured again!'_ I said, pleading with him.

Hilton's shoulders tensed at that, and he clenched his fists so tightly that the blood drained from them. "You don't have to come if you're so scared," he growled.

' _What_ _‽_ _You'd leave without me?'_ I asked, eyes wide. My stomach clenched. I couldn't be left alone in a city like Castelia! Lawrence was unreliable, Cenric was gone, and Maylene might try to help, but I knew her League duties would keep her too busy. I arrived at the disturbing and unpleasant notion that Hilton was my lifeline. How much more trouble could he get us in? We stumbled upon the Castelia base by chance, and we'd probably never have such luck—or misfortune—again. If anything, the biggest risk being taken was on his own behalf by leaving the hospital and constant medical supervision.

From this angle, washed in the fluorescent lighting from above, his profile almost looked normal excepting for the blotches of indigo discoloring his face and the occasional scale. It was only when he turned to face me that the full extent of his deformity revealed itself. Pealing slabs of skin. An eye dyed red and partially obscured by a too-heavy brow. A nose twisted in on itself that magnified the sound of every wheezing exhale. Lips contorted into exaggerated sneer until they didn't fit back together, exposing a flash of twisted teeth and inflamed gums.

I shuddered, then ashamed, averted my eyes. How much longer could he go on like this? It didn't sound like the doctors were any closer to a cure. He should stay at the hospital. If something went wrong, he'd have the best shot here, right? But how would I find Claire then? Lawrence was strong, but he had his own agenda. I couldn't rely on him alone.

I needed Hilton, and my body went cold as I realized he didn't need me. Simply by virtue of being human, he would have an easier time finding Reliance bases than me. If he decided to stay at the hospital, what would I do? What could I do? Nothing.

My brow furrowed, and I picked at my nails as heavy thoughts swirled in my head.

Was I putting Hilton's safety second because of my desire to save Claire? Was I in essence trading his life for hers? I shook the thought from my head. Nonsense. We didn't know Hilton's condition would get worse. It might even improve….right? Besides, Claire took priority over Hilton. The closest thing to family I had verses her creepy neighbor I'd only started talking to a week ago.

Why then, didn't the guilt leave my stomach?

I groaned and sank back into my chair. Why did Cenric have to get himself captured! He was exactly who I needed right now. He would've known what to say. What to do.

"We've got to leave," Hilton mumbled, surveying the room. "We're going to have to break out," he whispered, casting a nervous glance at the security guard stationed at the door.

' _Do what? How are we supposed to manage that in a room full of League members_ _‽'_ I asked. He might as well just of said we were going to turn into birds and fly out the window.

"We've broken out of Reliance bases before _,"_ Hilton pointed out.

' _We had Cenric's and Lawrence's help both times!'_ I countered.

"We didn't two nights ago,"he argued back.

' _Two nights ago we got_ _ **extremely**_ _lucky. Plus, we got left in the desert with you poisoned! You would've died if someone hadn't found us,'_ I retorted. Hilton opened his mouth, about to respond, but I just threw my hands into the air. ' _Whatever,'_ I finally said. ' _I want to save Claire just as much as you. We need a plan,'_ I said, reclining back on the desk.

"We need Lawrence," Hilton murmured, eyes widening as if he hadn't been the one to suggest it. "We need Lawrence!" he repeated, smacking his open palm with his fist.

' _Shh! Not so loud,'_ I hissed.

"If we can make it onto the roof, do you think you can call him with your telepathy?" He asked excitedly.

' _Who knows,'_ I said with a shrug, my psychic powers might've slightly increased because of my evolution, but if Lawrence wasn't nearby it was useless.

"We can just ask Lawrence to fly us to Kanto," Hilton said. I shivered at the idea of flying with Lawrence again, especially over massive bodies of water.

Hilton nodded. "I'll have Lawrence get us out of here first, then we can grab the stuff we left at the hospital," he decided, standing up. I snorted. You didn't "have" Lawrence do anything. You asked him politely, and if he was in a good mood he might listen. "You coming?"Hilton asked, stepping towards the stairs off the stage.

' _One more thing,'_ I said, lowering myself off the desk and landing on unsteady feet. ' _How do you plan to get past the door guard?'_

Hilton grinned, exposing his teeth, crooked and discolored from mutation. "I'm getting to that," he said before searching the table for a scrap of paper. After finding a pen he began scrawling in the margins.

He flashed me the piece of paper. "How does it look?"

' _I can't read.'_

"Oh, right…I wrote a note so Maylene won't think we were kidnapped. I'm sure it's fine, let's go!" he said, placing the sheet of paper in front of his empty chair.

After making it off the stage, we kept to the outside of the room, keeping our heads down as we neared the door. Thankfully the chaos of having half the League in one room made our stealthy exit quite easy.

Hilton stopped in front of the door guard, wringing his hands and shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Is there a bathroom nearby? It's an emergency!" Hilton hissed, pressing his thighs together and squirming.

The man sighed, opening the door. "Go down that hall until you see the sign on your left," he said with a yawn.

"Thanks!" Hilton called as we squeezed out. Uniformed humans roamed the halls, some carrying electrical equipment slung over their shoulders others had crates of manila envelopes or drink holders loaded with more coffee than was recommended.

"To the elevator!" Hilton whispered, slipping out into the hall with me trailing close me behind. Wait? Elevator? Not again! I internally moaned to myself and Hilton jabbed the elevator button, trying to summon the metal death box.

The light above the metal doors blinked, and an irritating binging sound let us know the death trap had arrived at our floor.

' _Hilton! There are probably people in it!'_ I hissed as the doors began to open. In a flash he leapt aside, barreling into the doors that led to the staircase. I jumped inside as they swung closed, and we stood flat to the wall. Muted conversation and the sound of footsteps passed right by us. We held our breath. Silent save for the rattling of Hilton's heaving lungs. I prayed to Arceus no one would go for the stairs.

No one did.

After it became apparent no one wanted to use the stairs when a fully operational elevator was next door, I exhaled, sliding down the wall in exhaustion. This escaping business was just too stressful for me.

"Alright, Noël, let's keep going," Hilton whispered, an excited grin playing at his lips. I groaned but followed him up the stairs anyways. Since becoming a kirlia, stairs were now only a third of my height instead of half, which made navigating them not easy, but easier.

Between Hilton's poor health and my height disadvantage, we made slow progress up the winding stairs until we heard echoes of a conversation from several flights below.

Hilton froze, turning to me with eyes wide.

' _Don't stare at me, run!'_ I said, pulling myself up the stairs with renewed vigor.

The conversationalists got closer, and from their casual tones I doubted they were searching for us, but if they found us the game was up. Hilton and I spirited up the last few flights of stairs before a locked door confronted us.

Hilton frantically jiggled at the knob, as if somehow that would magically cause the door to unlock.

"Can't you teleport us to the other side?" Hilton whispered as the voice grew louder, still attacking the knob.

' _Maybe, but I also might miss and teleport us twenty feet off the roof,'_ I said, taking frantic glances behind us.

"Just do it!" he hissed.

' _I can't! I'll kill us!'_ I snapped back, waiting for the tops of our accidental-pursuers' heads to pop into view. They'd cornered us without even knowing we were here.

He frantically jabbed randomly at the keypad. The button at the top flashed red with every incorrect combination. The voices got louder. The light flashed green. Hilton flung the door open, and I jumped into the afternoon sun with Hilton right on my heels.

I sighed and jogged to a stop, turning back to look at the open door. The voices disappeared, and no signs of our pursuers remained. Our hearts beat loud, delivering a surplus of oxygen to our tensed muscles. Hilton wiped the sweat off his forehead, letting out a nervous exhale.

' _Oh, wait!'_ I said, spinning around. ' _Hilton! Quick, put something into the door!'_ I said, watched the door slowly swing to a close. He was standing right by it, but instead his face just twisted in confusion.

' _Put your foot in the door! It's going to lock us out!'_ I yelled, running towards him and the door. I reached out and my fingertips brushed the cool metal surface as it clicked shut. I cursed, looking up to scowl at him.

"It's probably not locked," he said, trying to feign confidence. He tugged at the knob. It didn't move.

I moaned, pressing my hands to my temples and taking several steps backwards.

"It doesn't matter anyways, right? Lawrence will fly us away," Hilton said, stepping past me to survey the rest of the roof. Even at night the humid summer heat radiated off the dark gray paneling, cooking our legs and feet. Our only small relief took the form of a tepid wind that sauntered across the flat expanse before disappearing into the dark skyscrapers to our left or right.

"We should get out of here," Hilton commented, following the edge of the building. "I'm sure they can see us from those windows," he said, gesturing with his head to the adjacent structures.

"Easier said than done," I grumbled, sidestepping a metal pipe letting out black exhaust and coming to a stop by the edge. The city expanded out before us, most buildings towering above the hospital, glossy windows reflecting the city's artificial glare back at us. Mode Street went off into the distance, lined by clustered buildings with a pop of green trees struggling to survive in the urban chaos. Lines of glowing taillights and headlights stretched down every street. Even in the dim light we could see the sweating construction workers that ambled along the sidewalk looked almost as miserable as we felt. Earlier this morning the workers coned off a section of street down the line, causing mass gridlock and a jumble of angry car horns.

As the vertigo threatened to tip me over the edge, I stumbled back and looked to Hilton.

"Have you started calling Lawrence?" he asked, staring at me.

' _Not yet,'_ I said, shifting my weight from one foot. The roof was being to burn my feet, and unlike Hilton I didn't have the luxury of shoes.

"Any time now would be nice," he said a little too sharply for my taste, glancing back at the locked door.

I shot him a glare before closing my eyes and beginning to focus my power. I could feel my head injury interrupting the smooth flow of my power more strongly than before. It cut through the flow, making my power wild and unruly. The back of my head tingled as I began my attempt to reign it in, condensing my power with a net of will. My entire body tingled now, and I was sure sparks were flying out of the back of my head. The tighter I drew my power, the more nervous it made me. I had to make sure I got it right the first time. I couldn't risk putting both of us under another illusion again, or accidentally teleporting us to who knows where.

I inhaled once, deep and sharp, then focused the whole of my power in the center of my forehead.

My eyes snapped open. _'Lawrence!'_ I shouted into the void. Hilton flinched at that, taking a step away from me.

"Can you exclude me from that? You're kinda loud," Hilton said, running a hand through hair damp from sweat.

I ignored him, shouting for Lawrence again.

"Noëlllll, loudddd," Hilton persisted, massaging his temples.

' _Go stand over there then,'_ I snapped, refocusing my energy for a third try. Hilton grumbled something, but left me in peace.

I called for Lawrence again. And again. And again.

' _He's out of range_ ,' I finally said, kicking a lose pebble off the edge in frustration. Behind me Hilton rested against the concrete the housed the door. I plopped down several feet from him. ' _Well? What are we going to do?'_ I asked.

"Can't you just, you know, try harder?" Hilton asked, making strange gestures.

' _No, I cannot just 'try harder','_ I snapped back, ' _I'm at my limit. Lawrence is probably out of the city by now. He could be out of Unova by now for Arceus's sake. Now, we're trapped up here unless you want to try banging on the door,'_ I said folding my arms.

"Brilliant plan. I'm sure the League will love to know how we both got trapped on the roof," he said. "Oh, I'm sorry," Hilton feigned innocence, clasping his hands together, "we got lost searching for the bathroom. And I lied to the security guard. And that note was just a practical joke," he mocked.

' _Well, it wasn't my fault the door closed,'_ I grumbled. He went stiff.

"What did you say?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

' _I said, "Hilton! Don't let the door close!" but you stood there like an idiot,'_ I said, standing up.

"I'm sorry, at least I was actually doing something to get us out of there," he said, pulling himself up and turning his back to me.

I actually laughed at that, and he spun around at the strange noise. ' _Are you for real? Did you really just say that'?_ I asked, my eyes watering. His anger momentarily turned to confusion, but I just continued in a low voice. ' _Because I remember a week ago you dropped me down the stairs and broke my skull. Funny how if that wouldn't have happened I could've probably teleported us back inside. I could've popped us in and out of every Reliance base we've been to, but I guess that dreams dead,'_ I hissed at him.

"You're pegging this on me now?" Hilton said, clenching and unclenching his fist, "You're right, maybe back then I just should've left you! Being recaptured by Reliance is _soooo_ much better than being free, right?" he growled.

' _That's easy for you to say, but I'm never going to be able to battle competitively with this!'_ I shouted, pointing to the back of my head. ' _My whole life is gone because of you!'_ I screamed, hot tears spilled out of my eyes as the truth of my own words hit me.

"Oh, tell me more about how the little crack in your head mildly inconveniences you," Hilton said in a low voice, "I'll only hear it out of one ear. Do you know why?" I glared at him. "Because a week ago Reliance decided it would be fun to see what my body would do when they mixed in seviper DNA. And do you know what, Noël? My body could start rejecting itself at any minute, and I'll die, so don't you talk about how the rest of your life is going to be ruined when I don't have much of a life left!" he shouted.

My anger flickered out at that. I didn't know that. He never told me. Did the doctors tell him while I was asleep? _'Just stay here then_ ,' I said quietly, body numb.

"What?" he whispered.

' _Just stay here. In Castelia. Go back to the hospital,'_ I said. ' _With the doctors and nurses. You'll be safe.'_

Hilton walked back over, slumping down the wall and resting his head on his knees. "You know why I can't do that," he said, the sound of his voice muffled by his own body.

' _Arceus! Why do you care so much anyways_ _‽'_ I asked in frustration, ' _you said yourself you might die, and Claire's just your neighbor!_ _She's all I have,'_ I ended in a whisper.

"She's all I have too. Don't you understand‽" he cried, finally lifting his head. Snot ran down his face.

' _That's not true,'_ I said quietly. Hilton laughed mirthlessly at that.

"You're right. I forgot. She thinks I'm a repulsive monster," he added, face growing pained at the memory.

' _Illusion Claire said that,'_ I reminded him, scooting closer and putting a pale hand on his knee.

Hilton smiled at that, but the pain didn't leave his eyes. "Oh, I wasn't talking about my mutations," he said bitterly.

I withdrew my hand. We sat in silence.

I wiped my nose as the tears dried on my face, mixing with the sweat. I glanced over at Hilton. He had buried his face in his arms again. Arceus we were a mess. How were we supposed to save anyone? Maylene was right. We should just stay here and let the League take care of it.

To our right the door clicked and swung open, causing both of us to look up.

"Oh, I didn't mean to intrude!" the blonde woman said, putting a hand to her mouth after noticing our running noses and red eyes. She backed towards the door.

"Oh, no. You're fine Ms. Allen. We were actually stuck up here," Hilton said, trying to smile. His voice was raw and unsteady.

"Getting too stuffy in there for you too?" the head of Independence said with a comforting smile. She dropped down next to Hilton, pulling her knees close. Over the break she'd pulled her white-blonde hair back into a messy bun.

"They're all looking for you back there, you know," she said, staring out at the cityscape.

Hilton just moaned, burying his head again.

' _So you know the combination for the door?'_ I asked hopefully. I doubted someone as sane as she was would pull Hilton's trick.

She turned to me with a confused look on her face. "I'm sorry, Noël. Did you try to talk to me? I'm afraid I suffer from occasional seizures," she said with a sad smile, "so I have a brain implant that tries to stop them. It's a blessing for sure, but I haven't been able to communicate with psychic pokémon since," she explained, tapping the back of her head with an aged finger.

I shrunk at that, embarrassed. I didn't know.

"He asked if you knew the door combo. We got stuck up here," Hilton said into his arm, barely comprehensible.

She actually giggled at that, unfolding her legs. "Yes, I know the code," she said smiling. "All the people down there running around a looking for you was making me feel a little claustrophobic, so I asked to come up here. Of course, that twenty thousand dollars didn't help much either," she finished with a light laugh.

"Twenty thousand dollars?" Hilton said, head popping back up and face twisting in confusion.

"Oh, I didn't bribe them!" she said quickly, a rose blush dyeing her cheeks. "Because of Reliance's experiments, Independence has decided to donate money to Castelia General for research and treatment, so you can imagine the League is quite pleased. But I'm afraid that won't cover much," she said with a frown, "if we're lucky that might cover the damages Reliance caused when they broke in two days ago. We just don't have the funds right now with the Poké Festival preparations. Hopefully I can push the board to allocate some of our profits from the festival to here, but that's just taking it away from our other projects," she sighed, pulling out her hair tie and shaking her long hair loose. "All this Reliance stuff is a mess," she said, resting her head against the wall behind us.

"We have to stop them," Hilton murmured, mirroring her action.

"Easier said than done," she said with a faint smile, "Have any ideas?"

Hilton sighed, staring absently into the ground. "I don't know. What can I do? What can _we_ do?" he said and turned to stare at me. "I don't know if we can make a difference…" he said slowly, "but I just can't _stand_ being trapped in the hospital while Reliance hurts our friends," he said, wrapping and unwrapping his hoodie strings around his mutated index finger.

"I-I understand more than you know," she said softly, clasping her hands and staring intently at them.

Hilton turned his head towards her, expecting her to elaborate. She didn't. " _How_?" he finally asked. "How can _you,_ the rich powerful leader of Independence, possibly know what it's like to be like me?" Hilton asked, gesturing to himself in a pleading tone.

"Several years ago," she murmured, unable to meet our eyes, "my seizures were getting worse. I was in and out of the hospital constantly. My niece…my smart beautiful niece…she…" Christine took a deep breath, "she…Arceus I can't believe I'm about to tell you this…" she said with a humorless chuckle. "Swear to me you won't tell anyone. I've managed to keep this from the press, but if they find out…" she trailed off, trying to steady her hands.

"Pinky promise," Hilton said seriously, offering his shortest digit to the fifty-year-old woman. She laughed for real at that, locking pinkies with him.

"Well, no backing out of it now," she said. "My niece takes after her mother. Emotionally-driven, passionate, reckless…. She lived with me, and everything was wonderful until my seizures got worse. I couldn't be there for her. She started hanging out with the wrong crowd. I didn't know about it until it was too late. She joined Reliance several years ago, and I haven't seen her in person since," she said, voice dropping to a whisper.

My eyes widened, and Hilton choked on air. "You're joking," he insisted after clearing his throat. "You're the head of Independence!"

"I know," she said, head hung low. Her loose hair fell over her shoulder, obscuring her face from us. "You can't tell anyone. Arceus, I shouldn't have told you!" she said, whipping her head in our direction, and grabbing onto Hilton's shoulder too tightly. "Stan Taylor would have a field day with it. They might hurt her, or ransom her, or—"

Hilton silenced her by laying a hand on hers. "Hey, we made a pinky promise, remember?" he said, foolish grin slipping back on his face.

"Thank you, Hilton," she said. "I'm afraid I tried to comfort you, but you ended up having to comfort me instead." She pulled herself up, dusting her skirt off and taking a step towards the door. "Coming?" she asked us, pausing mid stride.

Hilton looked to me.

' _We could try to call Lawrence again…_ ' I suggested with a shrug.

"We might wait a couple more minutes," Hilton said, looking to her. "You won't…tell them that we're up here, will you?" he asked, eyebrows pressed together in concern.

Ms. Allen sighed. I-I know it's probably not a good idea for you to leave the hospital, but I also know that feeling of being trapped inside a white room while Reliance takes your loved ones from you…and it just kills you inside," she said, placing a hand over her heart. "It's worse than the seizures," she added softly. "And they just don't understand that, so maybe tonight," she started elusively with a playful grin on her face, "I, in my old age, will have just forgotten I saw you boys up here."

I gasped and Hilton ran his hands through his hair. "You would do that for us‽" he asked.

"Oh, as the leader of Independence I simply couldn't do that purposefully, but things do seem to slip my mind easier these days," she said with a sly smile and a shrug. "Oh, and if you boys do decide to come back, the door code is 5437," she added, punching in the code herself.

"Bye, Ms. Allen!" Hilton called as she waved to us before vanishing down the stairwell. The door swung shut behind her, leaving us on the roof alone.

"I thought she would keep talking until I died, or more likely until she died of old age," came a voice from behind us.

Hilton jolted, and I jumped a foot into the air with a screech.

"I could do without the theatrics," Lawrence said dryly, crossing his thin arms and giving us the most judgmental look his twelve-year-old baby face could muster.

"Lawrence!" Hilton cried, grinning.

"Since I do not see any Reliance grunts on the premise, I assume all your shouting was because you wanted to leave this filthy city?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup! How'd you guess?" Hilton asked, cocking his head.

"Unlike most humans, I actually use the cluster of neurons between my ears," Lawrence said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, that's cool," Hilton said with a nod that led me to believe he hadn't actually heard Lawrence's respond. "So, we were thinking about going to Kanto—but, oh! We have to go to the hospital first, so—"

The sound of angry footsteps pounding up the stairs cut Hilton off.

"Looks like the old flesh sack failed to delay them for long," Lawrence said with a scowl. He transformed back into a pokémon while Hilton turned to me mouthing, 'Flesh sack?'

Panicked voices from the staircase cut him off. Lawrence whipped around, allowing us access to his back. Hilton scrambled on, reaching back to pull me up. He wrapped his arms around Lawrence's neck, keeping me sandwiched beneath one arm.

' _Please hold tightly,'_ Lawrence said, rising off the ground. ' _We have many miles to go.'_

I heard the door burst open behind us, filling the night air with shouts. "Hey, stop!"

"Is that Latios‽"

"You've got to come back here!"

Lawrence jetted into the black sky. Warm summer air whipped past us, drowning out their shouts. Hilton howled in delight as the city flashed beneath us, and Lawrence swerved around several sky scrapers. A thin crescent moon hung over us in a canvas of dark clouds and twinkling stars.

I don't know if we'd made the right choice, but it was too late to turn back now.

(***)

 **A/N:** Granny's got a past. Who knew? Me I knew.

 **Fun Fact** : Haha, wouldn't it be funny if the real ending was hidden within those other endings? Haha! What sicko would do something like that, right? Haha ha h


	17. Arguments

**A/N:** AU where everything is the same except Lawrence is named Larry.

 **Chapter 17: Arguments**

 **(***)**

Warm winds played with Hilton's hair, messy strands catching the afternoon sun. The cerulean ocean flashed under us and reflected heat on its choppy waves. The turquoise canvas expanded out, burning a horizontal line in my vision where the blue of the sky touched the blue of the sea. We smelled like salt, sweat, and summer.

Lawrence maintained his altitude of around twenty feet above the ocean. Not so high that we froze, but not so low that the ocean spray soaked us.

If our escape from the League meeting was narrow, then we'd only escaped the hospital by the skin of our teeth. Hilton had insisted we go for his backpack though, and I guess considering Drifloon was inside, I couldn't fault him too much. Our initial flight from the hospital had been…tumultuous and too fast for comfort or personal safety, but thanks to the combined urgings of Hilton and I, Lawrence agreed to slow down once we reached the ocean. That'd been early this morning and we'd spent the hours since in pleasant conversation or napping.

' _So she threw the rope around the branch, caught the other end, and pulled us both out of the mud,'_ I finished. Reliving the nightmare that was the Pastoria Marsh at Hilton's request.

"That's not how I remember it," Hilton said, sitting cross-legged in the center of Lawrence's back.

I snorted _. 'Figures. You were the reason we got stuck in the mud in the first place. Why all the sudden interest in old stories anyways? You were there for most of them,'_ I said. He'd remained surprisingly quiet through most of my retellings.

Hilton shrugged. "I'm just trying to figure out who my neighbor really is."

I reclined back and examined him. ' _Who are you and what have you done to Hilton?'_ I joked, cracking a grin.

He smiled initially, but the expression quickly fell. After a brief pause he said, "I guess that's all you really knew about me before all _this_ ," he said, gesturing to the world around us.

' _What do you mean?'_

Hilton sighed again, running a hand through his windswept hair. It didn't look greasy for the first time in his life. "Well, before the whole Reliance thing I mean. All you really knew about me was my thing for Claire…" he said.

If by "thing" he meant life-consuming obsession, then yes.

' _I guess so_ ,' I said. ' _We didn't really talk much. You were always focused on Claire. I didn't think you knew my name for a while,'_ I admitted.

Hilton shifted uncomfortably but didn't deny it. Silence fell again, and my thoughts drifted to my empty stomach.

' _Latios, when are we going to get there?'_ I moaned, and my stomached rumbled on cue.

' _If I drop you both in the ocean,_ _ **I**_ _can be there within the next ten minutes_ ,' Latios growled.

' _Okay, okay! Point taken!'_ I whimpered, sliding closer to Hilton.

Latios sighed and was silent for a moment.

' _We should arrive within the next hour,'_ he finally said.

"That's great news!" Hilton exclaimed, "So, exactly where in Johto are you taking us?" he asked.

Lawrence twisted his head to stare back at us, crimson eyes reflecting the sun. ' _Mahogany Town. It is not a substantial lead, but if Reliance is comprised of members from previous villainous teams, it seemed a logical place to start.'_

"Because the old Rocket base used to be there," murmured Hilton.

Latios nodded appreciatively _. 'The League will also think of Mahogany Town. It would be best to investigate before their presence there becomes too thick. Or am I mistaken that you want to remain hospital-free?'_ he asked with a small smirk.

Hilton nodded eagerly. I sighed, playing with my hands. We would have to avoid both Reliance and the League now, wouldn't we? How were we going to do this?

"So Latios," Hilton said, tracing circles into Lawrence's back and trying to stay casual. "Why don't you tell us how Reliance managed to capture you in the first place," he said.

Lawrence stiffened under us. I glared at Hilton. Though I couldn't deny my own curiosity, couldn't this conversation wait until we were over land again? I hadn't forgotten Lawrence's threat from before.

'… _They captured my younger sister,'_ Lawrence finally said, avoiding our eyes by staring straight ahead. ' _They used her as bait to capture me.'_

"Did she escape too?" Hilton asked. I scowled at him, whacking his thigh.

' _No.'_

"Oh…well that's why we're flying to Johto, right? To go save our friends from Reliance," Hilton said in a vain attempt to lighten the mood. "Don't you have any legendary friends we can ask for help?" he asked. My eyes widened. That was actually an intelligent idea! Why hadn't it occurred to me before?

Lawrence sighed. ' _Reliance has been hunting legendaries, so many of the weaker ones have hidden,'_ he explained.

"Weak legendaries? Isn't that an oxymoron?" Hilton asked with a laugh.

' _There is a certain…hierarchy to legendaries, made up of several tiers,'_ Lawrence said, finding the right words elusive. ' _The minor-tier legendaries, being the weakest and most common, are also most threatened by Reliance.'_

"But not the other tiers because they're too strong?" Hilton asked.

Lawrence frowned, eyes going dark. ' _I previously assumed so, but Dialga's capture has led me to think otherwise.'_

It was a sobering thought. That while I rode on Latios's back, enjoying the sun and fresh air, somewhere Reliance could be planning world domination or whatever twisted goal they had in mind.

' _How are we going to stop them,'_ I mumbled, staring out into the sea. We weren't heroes. We weren't the next Calem or Dawn. We couldn't take down a villainous team single-handedly. Cenric? Maybe. But Cenric wasn't here right now.

"Well, we don't have to do it alone," Hilton said, nudging me playfully. "The International Police and the League is on our side, remember?"

' _Which is why you snuck out in the middle of the night to go off on your own, right?'_ Lawrence commented dryly. Hilton frowned at that but didn't answer. Silence fell again, and I stared out into the blue expanse, wondering what the future held for us while anxiety fluttered in my stomach.

The sharp cry of gulls broke into my thoughts, bringing my attention to a sliver of dark blue on the horizon.

' _That's Johto, isn't it!'_ I cried, scrambling up to Latios's shoulder. Hilton jolted out of his half-doze, leaning forward and squinting at the distant shape.

' _Sit back, you're throwing off my balance,'_ Lawrence hissed as he started to tilt forward.

Hilton tried his best to center himself on Latios's back, and I jumped into his lap to be safe. "I've never been to Johto," Hilton chatted excitedly. "I can't wait to see all the temples. Oh, and I heard the cherry blossoms are amazing," he said.

I nodded. ' _I've seen it on the TV! They have festivals like every week in the summer to celebrate different legendaries,'_ I said.

' _We are not tourists!'_ Latios snapped, silencing us. ' _And we are not stopping until we get to Mahogany Town.'_

' _Not even for lunch?'_ I asked, squirming and clutching my empty stomach. I looked up to Hilton for support, but he just shrugged.

' _Not even for lunch,'_ Lawrence growled, refusing to look back at us. ' _Have you forgotten we are not only racing the League there but Reliance as well? I refuse to find yet another burned down building,'_ he said.

Hilton nodded in agreement. With a melodramatic sigh, I collapsed back, leaning on Hilton's legs as the wind whipped past.

Eventually, another land mass appeared to our right, and I kept expecting Latios to veer one way or another, but he didn't. Instead, he increased his height. Only several minutes later did I understand why.

We passed over a chain of rocky islands, surrounding by tumultuous whirlpools, and I could just barely make out several bright dots among the sea of blue.

' _Are human's swimming down there?'_ I asked, aghast. Didn't they know about the whirlpools?

Hilton marveled at them with wide eyes, but Lawrence just increased his height further. His increased in speed caused the wind to intensify. After a second of lost balance and almost falling to his death, Hilton gave up his sitting position and laid down on Lawrence's back, wrapping his arms around his neck. The pose was familiar. With a sigh I crawled under Hilton's arm, letting the weight of it secure me to Latios's back.

Noticing our change in posture, Lawrence took it as a sign to fly faster. Cold wind clawed at my face, and I buried it in his smooth down. Couldn't we go back to a steady glide like before? The howl of the wind made both conversation and napping impossible, leaving daydreams as the only way to pass the time.

I thought about how crazy life had become and fantasized about a world where normalcy had returned. Claire was back, and training for the Sunnyshore gym again. Hilton showed up occasionally, the mutant half of him healed. Cenric and Lawrence were there, maybe even Ms. Allen, along with… I flushed as my thoughts roamed back to that shiny kirlia I'd seen in Castelia. Lunette. Would I ever get to see her again? Probably not, though I desperately wanted to. That fact that I'd never met another member of my evolutionary line in-person only made her more enchanting to me. I had so many questions. About telempathy, about our psychic powers, about evolution. Was she also born in a daycare center? Did she also feel out-of-place in the forest when her true home was the floor of a contest hall?

For the next several hours, my thoughts drifted between Lunette and my empty stomach, and just as I thought I'd begin to digest myself, a cool voice broke into my thoughts.

' _We have arrived.'_

Hilton shifted at Lawrence's announcement, and now that the legendary began to slow down, he could peer over the side to observe the ground below. Flashes of evergreens covered the landscape, broken by jagged cliffs and mountains. Lawrence began his descent, and my stomach jumped into my chest. I tried to suppress the feeling as he glided towards a rocky outcrop. I saw a hint of sloping roofs in the distance, and what could've been the top of a gym. Was that Mahogany Town? Before I could take a closer look, Lawrence landed, obscuring my view.

With a yawn and a moan, Hilton detangled his arms from Latios's neck, and slid off his back, taking me with him. His feet hit the rock and decided that after hours of disuse they'd go on strike, letting Hilton collapse to the ground in a surprised yelp. I landed on his stomach with an undignified squeak and quickly rolled off.

The moment I hit the rock a bolt of electricity shot through my body sending it into convulsions. I gasped for air, but an invisible wall blocked my lungs, leaving me gagging. The sensation of touch started to fade, and I heard Hilton shout something as black encircled my vision. Phantom images floated in front of my eyes. Hilton swimming alone in an ocean black like an oil slick with massive storm clouds rolling in, lightning striking in the distance with an empty beach and grey city behind him. Hilton cradling an injured arm with blurred surroundings. Hilton laying face-down in a dark hotel room.

Reality drenched me like a bucket of ice water. I gasped, head spinning at the violent return of my senses. I gasped for air, digging my hands into the rock to hold myself steady and to make the world stop spinning.

"Noël! Noël!" Hilton shouted, holding my shoulders steady with his hands.

' _Give him room!'_ Lawrence shouted, yanking Hilton back.

My breathing started to slow, and the pounding in my head gave way for waves of mild nausea. The crack on my skull plate sparked and fizzed.

' _You had another vision,'_ Lawrence stated, and I looked up to find him in his human form kneeling in front of me.

I nodded, clenching my eyes shut and gripping onto the rock as the world began to spin again.

' _Of the past?'_ Lawrence pressed.

' _I-I don't think so,'_ I managed to gasp, ' _Hilton was mutated, but—'_ I broke off as the back of my head sparked again, spreading tingling numbness to the entire top half of my body.

I heard Lawrence let out an angry breath, then cold fingers slipped around my jaw, cupping my face in slender hands. I open my eyes in surprise, but Lawrence had his closed now, concentrating.

The numbness receded, the back of my head stopped burning, and the world stood still again. The temperature in Lawrence's hands began to rise, but he removed them before it began too painful. He shook them with a grimace but returned his focus to me.

' _What did you do?'_ I asked, jaw slack and mind finally clear enough to form a coherent sentence.

' _Absorbed your excess power,'_ Lawrence said quickly _, 'but what about your vision?'_ he pressed, crimson eyes scanning my face.

' _Wait, you can do that?'_ I asked. There were plenty of times that'd been helpful to know!

' _Yes, yes,'_ he said, lip twitching in impatience, ' _the vision?'_

' _I didn't see much_ ,' I said with a shrug, ' _first Hilton was swimming in the ocean, then he had a hurt arm, then…'_ I remembered the last image. Hilton lying face-down in a dark hotel room. Even in the half-light from the window, he'd looked pale. Too pale.

' _And?'_ Lawrence prompted with hungry eyes.

' _Hilton was…in a hotel room_ ,' I said evasively, unable to meet Lawrence's gaze. He narrowed his eyes.

"Why were they all about me?" Hilton asked with a frown, sitting down on the rock.

Lawrence ignored him, keeping his me the focus of his intense gaze. ' _Tell me,'_ he said, and I sensed he'd closed Hilton off from our telepathic conversation.

' _He looked…dead,'_ I whispered, the statement itself took the air out of my lungs. Lawrence's eyes widened, but he quickly regained control of his features. ' _I thought you said I could only see the past in my visions, and none of that has happened,'_ I continued.

Lawrence shrugged. ' _Perhaps. It is difficult to say with certainty how your injury affects your powers,'_ he said, lounging back and reopening the telepathic channel for Hilton to join.

"Hurt arm you said?" Hilton asked me with a slight wince.

I nodded grimly.

"Which one…?" he murmured glancing between his fully mutated arm and the one covered in navy blue splotches.

' _I good one_ ,' I mumbled, and he moaned at that.

' _In the first vision, you saw the ocean, correct?'_ Lawrence asked, ignoring Hilton's lament for his future injury.

I nodded, ' _So?'_

' _We must head for a port city immediately,'_ Lawrence said, picking himself up.

"What‽" Hilton and I exclaimed in unison.

"We just got here!" Hilton said.

' _Besides, I want to keep that future from happening!'_ I added, trying to push the image of Hilton's pale limp body from my mind.

' _Time is linear. It is inevitable,'_ Lawrence said grimly. What in the world did that mean? Now he was starting to sound like Dialga! He continued on, ' _This is the first real lead we have. With this knowledge, we may at last gain the upper hand!'_ He finished, a wicked grin sliding back onto his face.

' _You don't care about Hilton‽'_ I asked horrified, taking a step back from the legendary. ' _He could get seriously hurt_ ,' I whispered.

Lawrence smile dropped as he focused his attention on me, meeting my gaze. ' _The price of life is injury and eventually death. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better equipped you will be to face your own mortality,'_ Lawrence said in a monotone.

I took another step back from him. "You're a monster," I whispered, staring at him in shock.

' _And you're painfully naïve,'_ he said coldly, contempt spilling out of his lips. I was too stunned to move. I'd seen this side of him before. I'd seen the way he smiled at Reliance's destruction. I suppose I ignored it because it'd always between directed at our mutual enemy, but now…

' _If we are finished trading insults,'_ he said, rolling his eyes and turned slightly to address both of us, ' _prepare to leave at once.'_

"Isn't the sea-thing kind of a long shot? I mean just because we'll be there in the future doesn't mean Reliance will," Hilton said, and I nodded at that.

Lawrence rubbed his temples in irritation. ' _Mahogany Town itself is a long shot. There's little reason to believe just because Team Rocket once dwelt here that Reliance now does. At the time it was the only lead we had but now—'_

' _We can't go there!'_ I shouted, surprising both Lawrence and myself. He shot me a withering gaze, but I tried not to back down. ' _I already told you why!_ '

' _Those visions could've been years apart,'_ Lawrence hissed, eyes narrowed.

' _It wasn't!'_ I insisted. ' _The hotel room had a window. I saw the beach. It was the same storm. Maybe even the same day,'_ I said, begging him to understand. We couldn't fly Hilton to his death. ' _Besides, we flew all this way, we might as well take a dinner break and check out the town,'_ I said, gesturing to the buildings behind us.

"What's so bad about hotel rooms?" Hilton asked, but Lawrence spoke over him.

' _They're experimenting on pokémon and humans as we speak! It could be your Claire. They might even have started destroying evidence if they know the League is coming! We don't have time to waste!'_ he shouted, stepping back and transforming back into a pokémon. ' _Let's go.'_

"Yeah, I'm with Noël on this one," Hilton said causing Latios's scowl to deepen. I flashed him a grateful smile that he returned. "Why don't we split up?" he proposed. "Lawrence can do a quick check on the port cities, and Noël and I'll check things out here. Lawrence, once you're done or if you find something you can just fly back here and pick us up," he said.

Lawrence narrowed his eyes, hovering backward. I wanted to say something. I wanted to stop him. But I also never wanted to see him again.

With a whoosh of air, he vanished into the evening sky.

' _How are we supposed to stop Reliance now?'_ I asked, rounding on Hilton.

"What?"

' _Without Lawrence. What if we find a base? What if we get captured again?'_ I asked, stomach dropping at the though. White hallways. Iron cages. Syringes filled with clear liquid. I didn't think my mind could take it a second time.

"Relax Noël, we'll be fine," Hilton said, patting my shoulder. "If we find a base we'll call the police or the League. If we get captured, well, Lawrence can break us out when he comes back. Besides, if you didn't want him to leave, why didn't you say anything?" he asked, crouching down so our heads were level.

I turned away. ' _You know what he's like. He can be so…so…'_ I struggled to find the right word. Callous. Haughty. Cruel. Heartless.

"Cold?" Hilton offered.

' _Sure.'_

Hilton just shrugged at that. "He's just like that I suppose. I guess anyone would be at his age," Hilton said. I guessed his easy dismissal of Lawrence's attitude was because he didn't know about my vision of his death. I wondered if he knew, would his opinion change?

Hilton swung his bag around, digging out first his glasses than his Seviper mask. After situating them on his face, he stood back up, stretching out his legs. "Ready?" he asked, head twisting in my direction and voice muffled by the mask.

I groaned as I surveyed the distance between us and the hint of civilization. Why couldn't Lawrence have set us down closer? I'm sure no one would have seen us.

Hilton released Drifloon in a flash of red light, grabbing hold of the ghost-type's strings in an attempt to keep his balance as he started his descent down the rocky slope. Oh Arceus, I couldn't do this. I thought about calling out to Hilton and asking him to carry me down, but by the way he was flailing, he'd probably just get us both killed.

I sucked in a deep breath, holding it in my lungs, and stepped onto the declining rock face. While balance was still a definite issue, I was happily surprised to find my journey easier than Hilton's. Because of his weight, the rocks would crumble under his feet and send him sliding down several more inches in a mini avalanche while Drifloon managed to float above it all.

"You know the first time we were on a cliff like this I sent you, me, and Claire rolling down the mountainside," Hilton called back to me.

I frowned. Was he really joking at a time like this?

"And the most recent time I ended up with a concussion," he continued, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

I rolled my eyes, ' _Yeah, and you have a nasty habit of involving me._ '

He laughed at that. Fifteen minutes later, dirtier and more bruised versions of ourselves stepped off the rock onto forest floor.

My stomached growled again, echoing off the tree trunks. I looked around to see if any wild pokémon heard the noise.

"We really need to get some food in you fast," Hilton said with a chuckle. "Why don't we take that dinner break?" he asked.

Relief flooded my body at the suggestion, but then I looked up at him in confusion. ' _Why don't we just make it to Mahogany Town first?'_ I asked.

He shrugged again, finally releasing his grip on Drifloon. "I dunno. Could take us another twenty minutes to get there. Plus, I haven't really come up with a good cover story yet," he admitted with an embarrassed laugh.

' _We were on Latios's back all day!'_ I said, throwing my hands into the air, but for all my show I wasn't seriously upset with him. I was tired. Tired from having to cling to Lawrence all day, and tired from my argument with him.

"Let's go find a good place to start a fire," Hilton said, stepping towards the woods. "We can treat ourselves to those biscuits," he said, referring to part of the food stash we'd gotten early this morning back on our supply-gathering stop in Accumula Town. Thank Arceus Pokémon Centers stayed open 24/7. Luckily Nurse Joy was distracted with a patient, and the acne-spotted minimum wage worker manning the Poké Mart station was too tired to care at 4am when Hilton came in wearing a full face mask. My eyes drifted to his backpack, overflowing with coils of rope, repels, and various healers. He'd even purchased a second pair of clothes. Imagine that! There wasn't room for me to ride around in it anymore, not that I could fit now anyways.

I guess I won't need this for now," Hilton said, sliding his mask to rest on the side of his face. He grinned at me and gestured for me to follow him into the woods. After several minutes he found an area clear enough to start a fire, and after brushing away the dried leaves from the ground, he dug a little indent with the toe of his sneaker. Dropping his pack against the nearest tree, he turned to me, planting his hands on his hips.

"Alright, do you want to go collect some sticks with Drifloon while I work on the fire pit?" he asked me. "Oh, wait! I forgot you don't like the woods!" he quickly amended.

I sighed. ' _After everything we've been through in the past week, trees don't seem so bad anymore_ , _'_ I confessed.

Hilton nodded thoughtfully.

' _Any size twigs?'_ I finally asked with a resigned sigh.

"Small'ish," Hilton said, shrugging, "Oh, just make sure they're dry!" he said, I nodded.

' _Come on, Drifloon,'_ I said, grabbing the ghost-type by one of his strings and towing him deeper into the woods.

Golden light leaked through the trees, casting long purple shadows, and I could just see a flash of rosy sky between the leaves. The crunching of pine needles beneath my feet gave me a sudden wave of homesickness for Sinnoh and its snowcapped mountains and evergreen forests. How soon would I see it again?

I started plucking twigs off the ground, handing several to Drifloon so she at least looked useful. As I bent down to grab another stick, something lunged for me, wrapping around my wrist and yanking me forward. I screeched, trying to free my arm but only tumbling forward.

In the dying light a head rose above me, it's bulbous head bobbing like a cobra on its narrow body. Bellsprout narrowed its eyes, opening its mouth and letting a slew of noxious fumes escape. They burned my nose, mouth and eyes, blinding me by my own tears.

Bellsprout's roots tightened around me, disturbing my attempts to summon my psychic power to the forefront of my mind.

A blast of wind sent us both spinning into the air. We hit the ground with a thud, finally falling apart. I managed to crawl out of the wind before collapsing to catch my breath.

As soon as I was free, Drifloon increased the intensity of her gale, whipping her tails faster and faster. The blast sliced through Bellsprout's plant matter with ease as the creature writhed in the center of it.

' _That's enough, Drifloon!'_ I called. _'I think she's got the message,'_ I said.

Drifloon's tails slowed to a stopping point. She tilted his head in my direction.

' _Thanks, I owe you one,'_ I said, knowing she wouldn't respond. I pulled myself up, dusting my legs off. I never expected to be saved by Drifloon of all pokémon, but I guess I wasn't the only one to get stronger since our capture.

The sound of breaking twigs and crunching leaves broke my train of thought. The heavy, clumsy steps could only belong to Hilton, but why wasn't he back at camp?

' _Hold on one minute,'_ I told Drifloon, leaving her to pick up the sticks we dropped while I pushed through the brush.

I parted the last sapling, stepping into a small clearing. _'Hilton, you really should be more caref—'_ the being in the clearing turned around to look at me, but it was most certainly _not_ Hilton.

(***)

 **A/N:** Arguments are so much fun, aren't they? Who'd you guys end up siding with most?

 **Fun Fact** : Pike Queen Lucy would probably be jealous of Hilton.

Friends.


	18. Too Much Pink

**Chapter 18: Too Much Pink**

(***)

I parted the last sapling, stepping into a small clearing. _'Hilton, you really should be more caref—'_ the being in the clearing turned around to look at me, but it was most certainly _not_ Hilton.

She towered a full foot above me, rolls of fat stretching her pink skin to the limit and jiggling with every step. Her eyes were small, dark, and beady, and lacked any sign of intelligent thought behind them. Her mammoth tongue hovered over the ground, sensing the earth beneath it as if it were some snake-like alien parasite that'd attached itself to her mouth with a separate brain.

I swallowed hard, taking a step back from the lickitung. "S-sorry, wrong person," I managed, stepping back even into the further until the bush stabbed me from behind, sharp branches pushing into my back.

I froze as we stared each other down for a tense minute. With a growl she lunged forward, swinging her tongue in a wide arc in my direction. I yelped, diving out of the way and colliding with the rough ground. Something wet and hot grazed one of my horns. Sparks rushed down my spine, and my entire head began to tingle. White static pushed at the edges of my consciousness, but I managed to push myself up, facing down the lickitung.

"Can't we just talk this out?" I asked as the world grew increasingly hazy. The tingling in my head transformed into numbness.

Lickitung twisted her body in response, preparing for another strike.

I glared at her. Fine. If that's how she wanted to play.

The pink demon lunged for me, tongue swinging behind her. I jumped back, but my heel caught on an exposed root. I tumbled backwards, managing to catch myself before my head hit the forest floor a second time. The numbness spread across the whole of my head, playing at the top of my neck as well. Everything felt fuzzy, and not being able to feel my own head was disconcerting. The lickitung tumbled past, carried by her own momentum.

With the small window of time, I pushed myself off the ground again. The lickitung turned on me, racing forward. I inhaled, directing my power towards my legs, and started running from side to side, leaving phantom images in my wake.

The lickitung paused, scanning my Double Team for the real me, and with a savage war cry she tackled one. The mirage vanished into thin air, and the pink pokémon slammed headfirst into a sapling, cracking the tree under her weight.

Quickly raising my hands, I prayed to Arceus my powers would cooperate again. I gathered them into a ball and my eyes grew hot. I clenched my fist, and Lickitung lifted off the ground, surrounded by a blue glow. As I mentally prepared to rattle her to unconsciousness via Confusion, she reached a hand out towards me, fighting against my psychic hold.

I yelped, gathering the energy to finish her off, but her eyes began to glow blue. Her power surrounded me in a blue glow, crushing the air out of my lungs. I reached for Confusion, but the power slipped through my fingers. Lickitung fell to the ground, Confusion dispelled, and looked rather pleased with herself.

I took a couple more steps back, using the time it took for her to rise to make a desperate grab for Confusion again. But when I reached for those shreds of power in the back of my head, I hit a wall. My head still buzzed from Lickitung's attack earlier, and I tried again. My stomach dropped as I collided with the mental barrier a second time. This wasn't caused by my injury. This was Lickitung's doing. This was Disable.

My earlier confidence left my body like a frightened bird, leaving me panicked and weak-kneed. Confusion was essentially my only damaging move! Without it I-! Drifloon! I had to call Drifloon. The two of us together could probably beat this monster. But what if the bellsprout ambushed her again while I was away? I could try and teleport maybe?

Lickitung growled, running towards me.

Oh Arceus! I'd probably teleport myself off a cliff, but that was better than being eaten! I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to invoke the attack I'd only managed to execute a handful of times. I wrangled with my psychic energy, shaping it and forming it as best I could until something kicked me in the chest. I reeled backwards, eyes snapping open to find myself surrounded by Lickitung's blue glow.

The pink demon waved a mocking finger at me, eyes still glowing blue from her attack. I groaned in frustration. Not Teleport too now! Arceus, it was barely useful in the first place! The lickitung black gaze met mine, and I turned and bolted, dashing through the brush. I shouted for Drifloon between labored breaths, but the sound of my own heartbeat and the white static in my head nearly drowned out my own voice completely.

My hip snagged on something, sending me hurtling through the air head-first. I slammed into the forest floor in an explosion of crunching leaves and snapping twigs that cut into my exposed stomach. Even before the world stopped spinning, something hot wrapped around my ankle. A long, fleshy tongue.

I screeched in its grasp as my leg began to grow numb. Lickitung pulled me back and I clawed the ground for a handhold. I locked my hands around an exposed root. Lickitung yanked me back, but I held the root so tightly that my arms quaked from the effort.

Frantically, I clawed at the barriers Lickitung had erected in my own mind. There had to be a way through. There had to! Lickitung gave my leg another yank, and my hands began to slip. I refused to be beaten by some no-name wild pokémon! I had to save Claire from Reliance!

With a roar, I jerked at the only shard of power I could reach. My heart beat erratically, and my head was numb. Power exploded out of my head, rocketing across my shoulders and down my arms. In shock I released the root, falling backward, I flailed blindly at my attacker.

Shards of green energy shot past me, slicing Lickitung and causing her to recoil. Her tongue loosened and I yanked my leg free.

I shot a glance backward to see my savior, but no one was there. Lickitung growled, recovering her balance.

The power in my arms sparked as if in reminder. Wait, did that mean…? Well, it was worth a shot.

I held my hands out, palms facing Lickitung, and willed my power forward. Again, the green shards materialized, jetting forward.

Lickitung hissed, trying to dive behind a tree, but the energy raked across her back and knocked her to the ground.

I held my breath.

She didn't get back up.

I let out a whoop, punching the air in excitement.

"Take that you dumb beast!" I shouted at the unconscious pokémon. Allowing myself a self-satisfied smirk, I walked back in the direction I'd left Drifloon.

Just wait until I told Hilton about this! I bet he wouldn't believe me, but I did have a cool new move to prove it. It felt like a grass-type move. Magical Leaf then perhaps? Maybe Hilton would know it if he saw. Then again, maybe not.

I reached the spot where I'd left Drifloon, but the ghost type had vanished. My heart rate quickened, but after looking around, I didn't see any new traces of a fight since I left. I let my breathing slow and started reassembling the armful of twigs I'd dropped. Drifloon probably just wandered off as she was apt to do, or maybe the wind just carried her off course again. Hopefully, she'd gone back to camp with Hilton.

With a sigh, I decided to retrace my steps to camp. Now that I'd calmed down, I realized my encounters with the wild pokémon today only resulted in mild bruising. I'd be sore, but I could handle it. Oh, and whatever numbing agent Lickitung's saliva contained, it was starting to wear off on my head, so my leg shouldn't be far behind. Since the battle ended, I should also have access to Teleport and Confusion again, right?

I focused on trying to summon Confusion when an angry voice rang out in the silence.

"Hey, where do you think you're going, old man?" she asked.

My head spun around, trying to figure out where they were. Several yards ahead I caught a glimpse of a break in the trees. I took several steps backward away from the humans, but I stepped on a stick hidden by dried leaves and the crack echoed around the trees. I froze.

"What are you talking about? I'm headed for Blackthorn City," the old man said, sounding more confused than offended.

"No, you're not," came the short reply, "the Ice Path is closed right now, you're gonna have to go back or fly over," she said.

"You're joking! Why?" he asked.

"The melting ice is making the cave unstable. We've got workers reinforcing the whole thing now," she said, growing impatient.

"That's never happened before in the summer! I've been making this trip for years. Please just let me squeeze past. It's for my granddaughter's birthday!" he said, and it sounded like he tried to push past her. As the sounds of their conflict escalated, I took the opportunity to escape.

As darkness fell, I began to worry about getting lost, but just as anxiety brushed my heart, I saw a glowing light through the tree. With a happy cry, I jogged towards it, still keeping my armful of sticks clutched against my chest. I spotted Drifloon first, hovering off to the side. At least she made it back.

I started to call out Hilton's name when I spotted his hunched form, illuminated by the fire. His shoulders were tensed and his fist clenched so tightly they'd turned white.

Tentatively, I approached him. His hands trembled, and revulsion twisted his upper lip, exposing his mutated teeth. He crumpled the sheet of paper in his hands and tossed it into the fire, watching it turning black and warp in the flames with the others.

' _Hilton?'_ I asked quietly, setting my pile of sticks by the fire.

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, Noël. How long have you been there?" he asked, looking at me with tired eyes.

' _Not long. What's wrong?'_ I asked, seating myself across the fire.

He reached for the pile of sticks I'd dropped, and started tossing them in the flames.

"I'm an idiot," he finally answered, voice laced with bitterness.

Well, he wasn't wrong, I decided to push the matter further. ' _What makes you say that?'_

He grabbed a stack of papers sitting at his side and waved them in the air before tossing them in the fire. The ravenous flames jumped on the paper, sending them and extra foot in the air. I jumped back at the sudden increase in heat. Flecks of ash rained down on me, but I ignored them to stare at the rapidly disappearing sheets. Right before fire consumed the last sheet I made out a heart crafted from macaroni.

' _Those were your love letters to Claire_ ,' I breathed.

Hilton's lip curled at that, and he looked away. "How could I've been so dumb?" he asked, breaking twigs in his hands and tossing them into the blaze. "No wonder she hates me. Arceus, I'd hate me too! Arceus!" he spat the name as a profanity.

' _Claire doesn't hate you_ ,' I said carefully. It was really more of an intensely strong dislike.

"She should!" Hilton cried, finally making eye contact with me. "I wouldn't go near the person who wrote these letter! I'd get a restraining order for god's sake!" he said, leaning forward with his head in his hands. "I wouldn't be surprised if she _did_ join Reliance just to get away from me!" he shouted and collapsed against the tree behind him.

' _Hold on one minute!'_ I said, starting to feel his anger infect me. _'She may not have liked you, but Claire would never_ **ever** _join Reliance_ ,' I said.

"I'm such an idiot," he mumbled, "the only person who was ever nice to me besides my own family and I was just so…" he ended his statement by beating his head back against the tree.

' _Hey, Hilton,'_ I said, crossing my arms. He cracked his left eye open, slit pupil contracting as he gazed at me across the fire _. 'Yeah, you did some pretty dumb things back then, and it's too late to change them. But now you've already been to three different regions looking for her when no one else is, and that counts for something_ ,' I said, picking myself up and circling around to him. When he sat and I stood our heads were almost level.

He closed his eyes again, head leaned back against the tree. He didn't respond, but I watched the muscles in his face relax, at least marginally. Plopping down beside him, I reclined back.

' _I found a route not too far from here,'_ I said, watching him. He didn't respond. ' _It'd probably be faster to follow it to Mahogany Town than to keep going through the woods',_ I continued, ' _And I heard some humans talking about the Ice Path. Some lady was keeping people out. Said something about "structural integrity" or something. It seemed a little suspicious.'_

He opened his eyes and turned to me. I smiled inwardly. That caught his attention.

"You think it could be Reliance?" he asked. A log in the fire collapsed, sending a shower of sparks into the evening air.

I shrugged. ' _Who knows. Could be worth checking out.'_

Hilton nodded and twisted to dig around in his pack, pulling out a short cardboard tube. Setting it in his lap, he reached for two sticks that he'd spared from the fire. After unrolling the tube—which I could only assume was some form of witchcraft—Hilton stuck a wade of raw biscuit dough on the end of each stick. My lip curled in disgust and confusion until I looked closer at the sticks. Hilton had stripped the bark off the ends, leaving the clean, smooth wood beneath. He offered me the smaller stick, which I took hesitantly, and propped his own the ground leaving the biscuit dough to cook over the fire. I mimicked his action.

Thirty minutes later the sun had vanished, and my stomach had finally been appeased. Hilton had nibbled at his biscuit before claiming his stomach still felt queasy from the flight and offered the rest to me. I greedily obliged him, finishing off my dinner while watching him feed crumbs to Drifloon before returning the ghost-type to his poké ball.

After I'd finished, Hilton piled dirt onto the smoldering embers, extinguishing the last of them. The conversation we'd had since Hilton's breakdown fluctuated between nonexistent and shallow. The weather had even come up for Arceus's sake. After all the absurd things we'd witnessed over the past the weeks and the clear sky was all we could think to talk about. I hoped reconnaissance in Mahogany Town would take his mind off his past idiocy. I brought up the topic of Magical Leaf, but his responses were forced and unenthused.

After packing up camp, I guided Hilton through the dark woods in the general direction of the route. He slipped his mask on again, looking entirely suspicious. So far the going story was he had a bad rash that needed to be kept out of the open air. We knew it wouldn't hold water, but it was all we had at the moment.

Thankfully, there was no route terminal between Mahogany Town and Route 44-I chalked that up to how absolutely rural the area was—which meant we wouldn't have to suffer the guard's scrutiny.

Mahogany Town rested between large, imposing cliffs, dotted with harsh pines. The entire area was never intended for human life, but yet, here they were. A spattering of aged wooden buildings held swooping tile roofs—a shape I'd never seen in Sinnoh or Unova. The gym sitting in the opposite corner of the town looked too modern for its surroundings along with the Pokémon Center near it.

I swallowed hard. In a town this small everyone would know each other, an especially shocking shift from Castelia City. Here our presence would be very much noted.

' _Where to?'_ I asked Hilton. Thanks to the town's size, we could probably comb the entire place in a night. But where to start?

"Pokémon Center," he said, starting for the glowing building. "I grew up in a town like this," he explained under his breath, "all the trainers passing through will be there, especially since this town has a gym," he finished. I nodded, taking his word for it. I tried to imagine Hilton and Claire growing up in a place like this, but couldn't. To my own embarrassment, I'd never been to Claire's hometown. She talked with her parents on occasion via holo caster, but never found time between training to go back and visit. She'd kept telling them she'd find the time after beating Volkner, but that never happened. I entertained the thought of her introducing me to her parents.

"And here's Noël, the pokémon who saved me from Reliance. Look how big and strong he's gotten"

The Pokémon Center doors sliding open broke my fantasy. I gasped as the cold air clung to my hot skin and blinked at the bright light. Johto Pokémon Centers looked like a mix of Sinnoh and Unova Pokémon Centers, less modern but still two stories. A cluster of trainers lounged in the seating area to our right, some chatting, others watched the television. I recognized the footage. It was Castelia four nights ago. My stomach churned at the memory, and I redirected my glance. Didn't news stations have anything more uplifting to talk about?

A pair of trainers queued up by the front counter, awaiting Nurse Joy's attention, and one or two more came headed for back door to their rooms for the evening. I noticed with interest my initial conclusions about the Pokémon Center had been mistaken. It wasn't two stories; it was three if the escalator was anything to go by. Currently, a hand-made out-of-order sign hung at the entrance, betraying no clues about the bottom floor's purpose.

After a moment of deliberation, Hilton walked towards the seating area, and I tailed close behind. He chose a large armchair, scooting over enough to give me room. I hauled myself up onto the cushion, wishing evolution had given me arm strength along with the height increase.

"Let me guess," said the trainer nearest to us, instantly causing the rest of the group to focus on us, "by the Seviper mask and kirlia, I'm guessing Hoenn?" he asked.

Hilton laughed stiffly. "Sinnoh"

The boy whistled. "Wow, that's far. What brings you to Johto? Challenging the gyms?"

"Family," Hilton said a little too quickly. The boy raised an eyebrow but didn't press the subject.

"We were just talking about all this crazy Reliance stuff," he said, gesturing to the TV, "you guys get any of that in Sinnoh?"

"A little," Hilton lied, "not as bad as Unova."

"It's insane. You know my aunt was supposed to be there then, but her flight got delayed," a black-haired girl said, holding her face in her hands with her eyes trained on the blinking screen.

"So do you guys get much of Reliance in Johto?" Hilton asked, trying and failing to sound casual.

The boy shrugged. "No more than other regions I guess. I—oh, hey! It's Lance! Turn the TV up!" he shouted as the red-haired champion flashed on the screen. The dragon master's appearance kept the trainers glued to the screen, hanging on his every word. Hilton tried several times to coax them into conversation with no luck. We hadn't found out anything yet! With a frustrated sigh, Hilton sunk back into the chair.

I stared at him. ' _What now?'_

Before he could answer, a teen girl with bubblegum pink hair perched herself on our armrest, squishing me with her exposed thighs.

"What's with the mask?" she asked, a playful smile twisting her lips.

Hilton, still stunned by her sudden proximity, barely managed to stutter, "O-oh, I got it at a contest."

I frowned. That wasn't our plan.

"And you're still wearing it?" she asked with an amused eyebrow raise.

"I-I really like it," Hilton said, giving off nervous waves that filled the room.

"I think you're hiding something," she whispered. Hilton's eyes darted to the other trainers to see if they heard, but Lance still held their full attention. The girl reached out a hand as if to pull his mask away.

Hilton shied away from her, and she didn't persist. With a shrug, she withdrew the limb. "So, what brings you to Mahogany Town?" she asked, and Hilton's relief was tangible at the subject change.

"Family," he repeated, voice more confident and smoother than before.

She frowned at that. "Okay, I live in Mahogany Town. No one here has green hair. Why are you really here?" she asked, surveying Hilton with curiosity and continuing to ignore me. I glared at her. Why didn't Hilton tell her to buzz off? She was asking too many questions.

"Just…looking for a friend," Hilton said evasively, avoiding her gaze.

"A _girl_ friend?" the girl asked, grinning mischievously.

I could practically see Hilton blushing beneath his mask, "No," he finally managed, "my neighbor."

' _You're telling her too much_ ,' I hissed. Reliance agents came in all shapes and sizes.

Hilton ignored me, "So… you live here?" he asked.

She gave a tired sigh. "Bummer, right? Parents dragged me here when I was six, and I've been stuck here ever since," she said, scowling.

"Have you noticed anything…weird recently?" Hilton asked.

"Besides a kid who won't take off his mask in the middle of summer and lies a lot?" she asked, playful smirk returning.

Hilton sputtering out gibberish syllables, trying to come up with a counter-argument, but she waved her hands.

"I'm joking with you. Weird people pass through all the time," she said with a laugh. The sound grated on my nerves. I wished she would take her and her thighs elsewhere.

"Probably not since the Ice Path shut down," Hilton said.

She nodded at that. "Yeah, it's been closed down for a couple of months. Hopefully they finish construction soon. We've lost a lot of business because of it," she said.

Hilton nodded. "I grew up in a town like this, and when they had to close down the bridge for a few weeks a lot of people got angry." This launched a discussion on small-town life. As the tones grew more amicable, the twisted feeling in my stomach increased. This was wrong.

"Hey, give me your Holo Caster number," she said, flipping on her own device. My blood froze. She continued, "I can run home and ask my parents if you can stay with us. We've got a spare bedroom now that my brother left on his journey, and I'm sure it'd better than hanging around all the fan boys," she said, gesturing with her head to the trainers circled around the TV. No no no no no. Why was Hilton even entertaining the idea‽ He'd tell her no. He'd lie. He had to! No way was he going to pout for an hour about Claire only to be lured in by this backwater, garden-variety tart.

Hilton said nothing, instead reaching for his Holo Caster, and that action didn't so much as speak but scream.

I snarled at him, sliding off the armchair and storming towards the Pokémon Center's doors. Was that whole stunt earlier just for show? Or was he really that fickle‽ Arceus the thought itself made me feel like I'd been kicked in the stomach and then in the head!

I stepped outside into the night, pausing for a moment to gather my bearings. "Noël! Noël!" Hilton shouted behind me, and I heard his pounding footsteps. Ignoring his voice, I bolted towards the woods. My heart beat in my ears, my head felt hot, and I ran until I was on the verge of puking.

Unable to run any further, I collapsed against a tree, sliding to the forest floor. I kicked a pile of dead leaves, sending them flying. Pounding my fist into the ground, I grit my teeth. Why? Why was he such an idiot‽

"Noël!" echoed Hilton's voice, and all of the sudden he crouched before me, mask ripped off and face covered in sweat and concern. My stomach lurched, and I refused to look at him.

"Noël! Talk to me, please!" he begged, holding me by the shoulders, "Is your head acting up again. Noël!" Hilton cried, "I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong!"

What was wrong? What was wrong‽

' _You practically told her who we were! If she's part of Reliance, she's probably already contacted them!'_ I shouted, glaring at him furiously. All that talk about being an idiot before, and now he does a thing like this. Unbelievable!

"Noël, this isn't like you. Is that all that's wrong?" Hilton asked quietly.

I snarled at him. ' _Not like me? You just learned my name like two days ago! What do you know about me‽'_

Hilton remained silent for a moment. "I know you don't like hurting people," he started, "you're afraid of a lot of things, but you try your best to be brave. Your incredibly loyal and determined. You love the indoors, but hate elevators," he said, smiling at that. I turned away from him, but he continued. "You think you're weaker than you really are, so you're scared to do anything on your own…" he trailed off, and his eyes widened as if in understanding.

"Is that what this is about?" he whispered. I stiffened. "Noël," he said gently, "you know I wouldn't leave you right?"

' _Oh, really? '_ I asked with a glare. ' _Because back in the Pokémon Center I was getting some pretty interesting vibes from you,'_ I spat.

Hilton blushed. "Okay, yeah. I thought Staci was cute"—oh, Staci now, was it?—"but give me a break, Noël," he protested. "This is the first time in my life a girl's every been interested in me for a change!"

' _Yeah, let's forget about Claire and saving the world so you can enjoy the attention of some pink-haired—'_

"Noël, I'm not giving up. I managed to get a lot of information out of Staci," Hilton said, trying to calm both of us down. I was having none of it.

' _Yeah, including her phone number,'_ I growled.

"Noël, you can't find Claire on your own, but guess what: neither can I," Hilton said, and I turned to him, letting my silence be his sign to continue. "I-I don't _love_ Claire, but that doesn't mean I won't stop trying to save her."

' _Why do you care if she's nobody to you then‽'_ I cried.

"Because when I was little and the other kids bullied me, she was the only one who stood up for me, happy‽" Hilton shouted, finally losing his cool.

I sat in stunned silence. Oh.

"I owe her so much," he continued in a whisper, clenching his fists, "for all those years she was my friend, and then for all the horrible things I did to her afterward. I promise, one hundred Stacis couldn't make me forget about rescuing Claire, okay? Friends?" he asked, offer his hand.

I stared at it for a moment, then reached out, wrapping my fist around his thumb and shaking his hand

' _Friends.'_

The truth of that word hit me. That's what we were now. Friends. I'd hated him two weeks ago, but something had changed. Maybe it was him. Maybe it was me. Maybe it was just the crazy situations we'd been thrown in, but yet here we were.

(***)

 **Fun Fact** : Lawrence as a human easily has the nicest hair out of the whole cast tbh. Very soft. Very shiny.


	19. Old Friends?

**Chapter 19: Old Friends?**

 **(***)**

The Commander crossed a thin leg over the other, taking the last bite of her steak and lounging back into the armchair.

Cenric left his plate untouched. After his relocation to this new base, he'd refused food, starving himself in an act of defiance.

"You're not going to make them get the IV again, are you?" she asked, eyeing his full plate with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Cenric—who'd positioned himself on his bed and three yards away from her—frowned, but refused to turn in her direction.

Her attempts at conversation persisted. "I thought you'd gotten over that little stunt," she said, starting her roasted asparagus. Cenric's stomach grumbled, and the bandage around the crook of his left arm throbbed in memory of the IV. He'd started eating again, realizing he was hurting himself more than Reliance, but he refused to eat in her presence.

"Please, Cenric," she said, not sounding particularly desperate, "my chef will be so upset if you snub another of her meals," she said, nodding towards the tray on his bed. "She works so hard."

Cenric gritted his teeth, determined to remain silent this time. Her daily visits, usually around meals, always dissolved into her trying to goad him into discussion, Cenric getting angry to the point of snapping at her, and her smiling that smug smile and verbally out-maneuvering him. Not today.

"My doctor says your stitches are healing well, but let me know if you need to increase your dosage of pain medication again," she said casually, picking up her glass of water and swirling the liquid around.

That was true, though the unregulated exchange of his medical details irritated him. Not that he should've expected anything different. This was Reliance after all.

"The Transregional League held a conference recently. You're smart enough to guess the subject of conversation," she said, placing her water down without drinking.

Cenric's eyes widened, and he was glad she couldn't see his lapse in control from her chair. The League held a full meeting about Reliance? That was huge! But why was she telling him this?

"The conclusion they came to was to "be extra vigilant" I believe," she said, and he could her the smile in her voice. "Isn't it wonderful to have such proactive guardians?"

Cenric's stomached tightened. "Team Rocket was a way bigger threat than Reliance, and they failed. Twice," he said, words spilling past his lips before he could stop them.

"Even then the League wasn't infallible," she countered without missing a beat. "Giovanni was once a highly trusted gym leader."

"And now you're gonna claim to be Cynthia?" Cenric said, rolling his eyes.

"A flattering comparison, but no. I have no love for pokémon," she said.

"Or people apparently," Cenric muttered.

If she heard him, she chose to ignore the comment. "Back to your original question. Why will we succeed while the other villainous teams failed? Because unlike Giovanni's quest for power, or Archie's and Maxie's harebrained schemes, Reliance appeals to the masses."

Cenric laughed at that. A hoarse, forced sound. "Yeah, because kidnapping and human experimentation appeals to the masses," he said, finally turning to look at her.

She shrugged. "The means justify the ends. In fifty years a liberated world will look back on now and praise their sacrifice."

"Arceus, don't tell me you've bought your own con!" Cenric spat. "Now you sound just like Ghetsis."

"Another flattering comparison, but his fault lied in putting too much importance on his son's role and revealing his cards too soon."

"Of course you'd find it flattering," Cenric said with another laugh.

"I found some of those old security tapes of the Sinnoh lab. Back when you were on the winning side," she said casually.

Cenric stiffened, looking straight ahead.

"Deny it as much as you like, you enjoyed the time you spent working for Reliance," she said, and he could hear the grin in her voice. "You weren't a good person tricked into doing bad things, and you know it. You've always been a bad person trying to play a role. Obedient son. Successful trainer. Faithful friend. Courageous leader. But which of those is the real you?" she probed.

Cenric avoided her gaze, clenching his fist until his nails dug into his palms.

"It was freeing, wasn't it?" she murmured. "No rules, no responsibility, no expectation for you to be someone you're not…" she hummed.

"You're wrong!" Cenric finally spat. "I hate Reliance! I hate what they do to people!" he shouted.

The Commander beamed, just watching him with knowing eyes. Arceus, he wanted to rip that smug grin off her face.

"I have a present for you after dinner," she said, her sudden change in topic taking him by surprise. Cenric stiffened at that. Present? The word made his body grow cold. It was looming and ominous. "I had to pull some strings and call in some favors, but I think the result will make you happy," she said, standing up. "If you're certain you don't want to eat, please follow me," she said, heading for the door.

Cenric didn't move. No way would he come with her willingly. Reliance grunts would have to drag him off the bed like the always did.

The door slid open and she stood halfway in the hallway, looking over her shoulder at him. "And I was so sure you'd be happy to see your _pokémon_ ," she said with mock disappointment.

Cenric whipped around, nearly vaulting off the bed. "What did you say," he growled. If he found his precious pokémon damaged in any way, he'd wring her wrinkled neck.

She just smiled and gestured for him to follow before vanishing into the hall. Snarling, Cenric ran after her.

The Commander sauntered down the white hall and Cenric trailed behind, trying to burn a hole in her back with the intensity of his gaze. The several Reliance scientists that passed looked at the pair with curiosity.

Did she mean all of his pokémon? Reliance took three of his pokémon after his initial recruitment, but he'd had the remaining two—yanma and munchlax—on his person the night he was captured in Castelia. The memory twisted his stomach, making him nauseous Cenric tried to calm his breathing. No use getting upset about something that wasn't for sure yet.

The Commander paused in front of an unmarked door, pulling a lanyard out of her pressed double-breasted jacket. She slid her card key, and the door clicked open. Pushing it open, she gestured for Cenric to enter first. He glared at her and stayed rooted to his spot. With a raised eyebrow and a falsely sweet smile, she entered first. Cenric followed begrudgingly behind, slowing as he absorbed the surroundings. The room was large. At least three times the size of his room.

Boxes and pallets lined the edges of the room, but he couldn't tell if they were being packed or unpacked. Bright florescent light filled the room, hurting his eyes. The room smelled like plaster, and he could taste the dust sticking to the inside of his mouth and drying his throat.

Four other figures stood to his right. He identified the first as Cyan and her dark-skinned lackey—Palmer, was it?—but the other two were nameless Reliance grunts outfitted in their classic blinding orange hoodies and dark shades. His focus shifted back to Cyan and Palmer. He hadn't seen Cyan since yesterday morning when she'd lingered outside his door wordlessly as Alimer shoved the tray of food into his stomach. The red-head, thank Arceus, was notably absent. Cyan stood impassive as ever; the bruise on her jaw had faded to a sick yellow, but she sported a new one beneath her left eye. He tried to force her to make eye contact, but noticing his attempts, she turned away.

"I'll have to warn you though," the Commander said, dragging his attention back to her. "They've spent quite a lot of time with their handler over the past weeks. Don't be too upset if their loyalties have changed. They're just dumb animals after all," she finished.

He began to snap at her, but the door at the opposite end of the room opened.

A luxio, gastrodon, and a ponyta walked in, followed by a Reliance grunt. Cenric felt like the air had been knocked out of his lungs. Then he was running. He didn't care if this was all part of the Commander's game. He needed his pokémon.

Instead of rushing towards him like he'd excepted, his pokémon watched him, clinging to the Reliance grunt's side. He stopped several feet in front of them, panting but smiling wide.

"Guys, guys it's me," he said, voice breaking. Profound relief flooded his body. His pokémon were here now. Everything would be okay.

His pokémon looked from him to the Reliance grunt. The grunt nudged them towards Cenric. Cenric walked closer, stretching out a trembling hand to pat Gastrodon. The large pokémon shied away from his touch.

"Hey, buddy. It's me, remember?" Cenric said, struggling to keep the smile on his face. "Ponyta?" he asked hopefully, stepping over towards the fire-type. She stomped nervously as Cenric neared, backing up. Cenric persisted and reached out a hand to touch her head. Wide-eyed, Ponyta reared, kicking her forelegs in the air. A sharp hoof collided with the center of Cenric's chest, knocking him backward.

Cenric fell to the ground, watching with stunned horror as the Reliance grunt calmed his pokémon down with soft words and a treat from his pocket. A pair of hands closed around Cenric's upper arms, and a head leaned in from behind.

"See? Just animals. The only reason they stay with trainers is for food and protection. See what your bonds mean to them now that someone else has the food," she whispered.

Cenric recoiled from her words, twisting around attempting to strike her, but the Commander already moved out of range like a ghost.

"You've done something to them!" Cenric snarled, leaping towards her.

The two Reliance guards came up beside her to protect her, but she held them back with a raised hand, never taking her calculating eyes off Cenric. "There is no trick," she said calmly, and Cenric lunged at her. The guards grabbed his arms, holding him in place.

"You've brain washed them!" he screamed, struggling against the guards' strong arms to claw her eyes out. Anything to remove that smug satisfied look she wore.

"For now I think it's best if you return to your room. You can see your pokémon as frequently as you'd like, but know the result will always be the same," the smile dropped off her face and deadly seriousness replaced it. "Your own pokémon have moved on. It's time that you do too," she said.

Cenric leapt at her again, but the guards tightened their grip. In his sick, bruised body weakened from hunger he didn't stand a chance against two healthy adults. The Commander gave a curt nod, the signal for them to drag him back to his room. Cenric struggled and writhed in their iron clutches, shouting obscenities at the top of his lungs. Cyan gave the Commander a discontented look, and Cenric glared at her in turn.

"If you're so upset about this why don't you do something‽ But you just stand around and do nothing! You're no better than-!" but the door closed behind him, prematurely ending his tirade.

He struggled against the guards for a few more moments before resigning himself and letting his body go slack. The guards grunted at the deadweight but dragged him along anyways. A layer of sweat coated Cenric's body, and he felt hot and clammy at the same time. Tremors wracked his body, and his heart still pounded in his head. The guards tossed him back into his room, closing the door behind him.

Cenric leapt off the floor and ran to the door, prying at it with his fingers. No use. Locked in again. He pounded on the cold metal with a fist, before sliding down its length to collapse on the floor. His head lolled to the side. The energy boost he'd gotten from his anger deserted him, leaving him even more exhausted than before. The weight of his own limbs felt oppressive.

"What am I going to do?" he mumbled, words barely escaping his dry lips. He didn't have the strength for another escape attempt. The Commander—the last vestige of his wrath flared up at the thought of her—had done something to his pokémon. If she actually meant it when she said he could see them whenever, he could try and break her hold over them. A dark voice in Cenric's mind reminded him that if she was confident enough to show him his pokémon in the first place, he probably couldn't undo whatever she'd done. Still, he had to try something. He couldn't stop resisting, or he knew he'd waste away in these white rooms and white halls.

Besides, Hilton and Noël were still locked up somewhere, and he had to hold himself together for them. He had to keep a level head and figure a way out, or at least hold out until the League found him. With any luck, they were out looking for him right now. Cenric squeezed his knees to stop his hands from shaking.

"That's right." He took a deep breath. "They'll come for me any day now."

 **(***)**

 **Fun Fact** : I'm out of fun facts


	20. Within Reach

**Chapter 20: Within Reach**

 **(***)**

We spent the night in the Mahogany Town Pokémon Center after Hilton refused Staci's offer-at my request-and spent that morning talking to residents for clues. That is, until the trainers sent by the League arrived. They'd quickly deduced our identity, and we barely managed to slip out of town without being seen. Apparently, our unannounced disappearance from the League meeting caused quite a stir back in Castelia. They chased us through Route 44 all day.

Hilton pressed his body close to the aging tree, pine needles sticking out of his hair and clothes in all directions. The sight might've made me laugh if my heart hadn't been thrumming so fast and nervous sweat wasn't trickling down between my shoulder blades.

"I see them!" Hilton hissed, backing deeper into the shallow throng of pines. Several trainers emerged from around the bend with pokémon by their sides. Their heads swiveled from side to side, looking for us.

Our bodies ached, covered in dirt and sweat. Hilton held onto Drifloon's tails with his left hand and steadied himself against the tree with his right. The hand trembled, looking paler than usual. I cast my eyes up to his head. I couldn't see his face behind the mask—I'd told him to take it off since there was no use in hiding his face now, but he'd refused—but his sweat-drenched neck looked equally blanched. We needed to rest. Soon.

I pressed into Hilton's leg. His deep, rattling breaths sounded loud in the tense silence. A spearow broke out of the trees to our left, causing me to jump and my heart to race even faster.

The fleeing bird caught the attention of the League trainers, and they headed in our direction.

A slight hiss escaped Hilton's lips, and he backed up further. Another step and we'd emerge on the other side of the trees.

"Run on three," Hilton mumbled, eye locked on the approaching trainers. "One"

' _Why are people always after us,'_ I groaned.

"Two."

The trainers neared, trying to see through the haze of trees.

"Three!" Hilton shouted, sprinting into the evening air, Drifloon bobbing behind him. The light of a dying sun peaked over the cliffs, striking the top half of his body. I bolted after him and shouts echoed from behind us. We darted around a grove of pines and hurtled up a set of stairs carved into the rock face. Hilton dove into another thicket of trees just as the League trainers rounded the bend.

I ducked behind a bush, watching them between the thin leaves. They looked around curiously and one checked her holo caster. She began to lead them in our direction.

' _How do they keep finding us?'_ I growled.

"Did they tag me at the hospital?" Hilton asked through labored rasps.

I turned around to look at him, and a blinking green light caught my eye. Of course! Why hadn't I seen it before!

' _Hilton! Turn your holo caster off! That's how they keep finding us,'_ I cried.

His trembling fingers clamped around the device, holding down the power button until it shut off with a pleasant jingle. I spun back around to watch the approaching trainers. They paused, looking at the device with confusing. The leading woman groaned. After a quick exchange, they decided to continue towards where the signal had stopped.

"Hey, you!" shouted a harsh voice, and I jumped at its proximity. A woman in a vibrant construction vest ran past our hiding spot and down the steps to confront the League trainers. "Can't you read the signs? This area is off limits until the Ice Path is fixed!" she said, planting her hands on her hips. I recognized that voice! It was the woman from last night.

The League trainers frowned at that, trying to explain their purpose, but the construction guard only got angrier. As soon as they began taking out their poké balls, I knew this was our chance!

' _Hilton, we can sneak away now!'_ I said, turning to find the boy doubled over, clutching his stomach while Drifloon hovered over him nervously. ' _Hilton!'_ I cried, scrambling over to him. I yanked that dumb mask off his face and gasped. His green hair clung to his sweat-drenched face, and he looked as pale as a drowning victim.

He dry heaved once, then twice. I glanced back to the League trainers in worry. They were too engrossed in their battle to hear, thank Arceus. Hilton wretched again, this time spitting up bile. I ripped my eyes off the sight, feeling nausea grip my stomach too.

' _Come on, Hilton,' I_ whispered. ' _Let's just make it to the cave,'_ I said gently, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice. I wrapped my arms around his upper arm, trying to help him up and pull him towards the entrance of the Ice Path. Drifloon wrapped her tails around Hilton's other arm, helping pull as best she could.

The ground trembled as the battle behind us intensified. Hilton pushed himself up, swaying dangerously. He fell against a tree, his labored wheezing sounding more and more like rasps.

' _Come on, Hilton, just a few more yards and then you can rest,'_ I begged, tugging on his arm. A barrage of icicles embedded themselves in the rock face above us. The battle was getting closer.

Eyes half open, Hilton stumbled after me, and I tried my best to guide him. Passing the threshold into the Ice Path felt like a kick to the chest. The cold air invaded my lungs, stinging my nose and fingers.

Seeing no signs of construction workers, I led Hilton deeper inside. I spotted a nook in the cave wall close enough to the exit for a quick escape, but far enough to be safe from the construction guard's wrath.

' _Just a little farther,'_ I said, pulling the half-conscious Hilton to the wall. He collapsed in a heap, shallow breathes passing through his cracked lips and manifesting in a thin fog. I yanked his backpack out from behind him, digging through it and pulling out his sleeping bag. I draped it around his shoulders as best I could, crawling inside the cocoon of warmth. Drifloon landed on Hilton's shoulder, gentling wrapping her tails around the boy's neck like a necklace.

Hilton gave us a weak smile. In the cave's blue light, he looked even paler and gaunter than before, but at least he was staying conscious.

"Sorry, Noël, Drifloon" he croaked. "I guess I'm still a little queasy," he said.

I pulled the sleeping bag tighter around us. ' _We didn't get lunch or dinner, and you skipped breakfast,'_ I recounted, ' _And you didn't eat much the night before_ ,' my eyes widened in shock as realization donned on me, ' _and we didn't eat breakfast or lunch the day before because we were on Latios! Arceus, Hilton! You haven't had a full meal in two days when we were back in the hospital! No wonder you're falling over yourself,'_ I said, searching for his backpack again. I recognized the blockish crumbly texture of a plastic-wrapped granola bar and withdrew it from his bag.

' _Hilton, you've got to eat this_ ,' I said and held it under his face.

He turned away. "I can't," he mumbled. "I feel sick. I'll throw up again…" he said.

' _God help me Hilton, if you don't start eating right now I'll personally go flag down those League trainers, and they'll drag us both right back to the hospital,'_ I threatened. This was a mistake all along. I knew I shouldn't have let Hilton leave Castelia in the first place. I gasped. What if this was that "delayed reaction" thing the doctor mentioned? What if Hilton was dying‽ I glanced at him to see him finishing off the last bite of granola.

"Better?" Hilton asked, but he looked miserable.

I frowned, scanning his face with narrowed eyes _.' If it gets any worse, we have to go to the hospital, alright?'_

He nodded, trying to seem casual and failing. Through a joint effort, we readjusted the sleeping bag, using it for its intended purpose instead of as a blanket. The rocks pressed into our backs even through the padded nylon. It took several minutes of shifting just for Hilton to find a comfortable position. I craned my neck to see above the rock that sheltered us.

The construction guard had yet to resume her post outside the cave entrance, and I wondered if it meant she had to fly to the Pokémon Center for healing. Inky darkness fell on the outside world, and I could barely make out the silhouette of the trees we'd hidden in previously.

Hilton yawned, sinking deeper into the rock face. I curled up against his side, glad for the meager warmth his clammy body offered. The cold had a way of sinking into my bones, sending my heat retreating to my core. I pulled the sleeping bag up to my nose, fighting to stay alert. I rested my head against Hilton's ribcage and the sound of his steady breathing lulled me to sleep.

A reverberating cracking noise startled me from sleep. Blinking slowly, I surveyed the cave. The only illumination came from the entrance, and since we were so far away from major cities and it was still a new moon, there wasn't much light to speak of. Even my vision—most pokémon have better night vision than humans—could barely make out the forms of the rocks and ice crystals surrounding us. Recently, Hilton's night vision surpassed my own. Should I wake him up? I cast my gaze up at him. First the first time and two days he actually looked peaceful.

The cracking sound echoed again. Sighing, I wiggled out of the sleeping bag. It was probably just zubat, but I knew I couldn't get back to sleep without knowing for sure. The cold air attacked my newly exposed skin, almost making me crawl right back into bed. With a shiver, I pressed forward.

My head collided with something, sending my flailing backward with an embarrassing yelp. I twisted around and tried to gather my bearings. What in the world was that? It wasn't hard enough to be a rock. As my eyes adjusted further, I could make out a small round shape…

"Drifloon!" Arceus, don't sneak up on me like that!" I said, laying a hand over my beating heart. As usual, she didn't respond. "Hey, come with me," I said, grabbing one of her strings and towing him along behind me. "Let's go find out what that noise is," I said, and the sound repeated.

We walked in silence for several minutes, and as the cold crept into my bones I began to question my quest. The siren song of a warm sleeping bag was getting harder to resist. My breath came out in frosty puffs, and the icy air shocked my lungs, freezing me from the inside. Just as I considered turning back, quiet murmurs echoed from around the next corner. I stiffened, grabbing Drifloon's tails and yanking her to a halt.

The sounds were distinctly human.

As quietly as I could manage when my legs were half-numb, I crept closers to the wall and inched towards the bend. With a deep breath, I peeked my head around the rock.

Two women wearing parkas and construction vests stood in front of a door built into the rock face. A man in a neon orange hoodie bearing the Reliance crest lounged in the doorway, chatting with the guards while a lantern mounted nearby bathed them in a sickly green glow.

"Come on, Amelia always keeps people out of the cave. No one's gonna come in in the middle of the night," the man said.

The shorter woman looked to the taller hopefully, but she just glared at the man. "Out of the question. If Mable finds out we left our post it's _our_ heads on the chopping block, not yours Michael," the taller said, flipping off her flashlight.

"She's always swamped in research for her special project, you know that!" Michael said, giving the shorter woman an impish wink. "Besides, she left an hour ago for—"

I didn't stick around to hear the end of their conversation. I backed away from the wall, numb toes all but forgotten in my mind's furious buzzing. The back of my head fizzled in anticipation. I stared into Drifloon's soulless eyes.

We found them. Reliance was here. Our suspicions had been right. Oh, Arceus. We were right! My hands trembled, and I tried to pretend it was from the cold. We had to warn Hilton, and then we could go find the police or maybe those League trainers if they were still around.

Silently, I headed away from the corner, Drifloon gliding behind me. I looked back over my shoulder. Their conversation continued. They hadn't heard us. I looked back to Drifloon with a relieved grin parting my lips.

My foot caught on a loose rock, sending my hurtling towards the ground and launching the rock in the opposite direction. I caught the yelp in my throat, ignoring my burning knees. The stone finished its arc, colliding with the wall with a loud clatter that reverberated around the cave.

"What was that?" "Is someone there?" Flashlights scanned the walls nearby, closing in on us.

"Run!" I shouted to Drifloon, sprinting around the bend, barely managing to get traction on the icy floor.

I tore around the corner, spotting Hilton's curled form in the shadow of the rock.

"There he is Drifloon!" I called, turning back to see the ghost-type paused in the middle of the path. She started glowing blue, head expanding as he sucked in air. Arceus bless her! She was buying me time!

' _Hilton! Hilton!'_ I shouted into his mind with telepathy I was sure was strong enough to wake someone out of a deep sleep.

A blast of wind ripped down the hall as Drifloon released Gust on the pursuing Reliance grunts. I stumbled ahead towards Hilton and launched myself at him.

' _Wake up! Wake up! Reliance is here!'_ I shouted, shaking him with all the strength I could manage.

Glowing stars ripped past me, embedding themselves in the rock above us and sending a shower of dirt and stone raining down on us. I whipped around to see Drifloon launching another Gust at the enemy's zubat. The other two grunts reached for their own poké balls.

' _Hilton! Hilton!'_ I shouted, yanking fistfuls of his hair. Why was he such a deep sleeper‽

A golbat and an arbok materialized in a flash of red light. Drifloon tilted forward, whipping her tails behind him until they blurred, and launched a barrage of black spiraling wind at his opponents. The force of it ripped loose rocks and ice off the floor, sending deadly shrapnel along with the terrible ghost-type attack.

Tearing my eyes off the battle, I turned back to Hilton. I slapped him across the face, and his head lolled to the side. My eyes widened. I scrambled down to his torso and pressed my ear slot against his chest. Closing my eyes I tried to drown out the sounds of the nearing battle.

Arceus, please.

There! A faint heartbeat! But it was slow and weak, barely there at all.

' _Hilton, wake up!'_ I cried, wrenching at his hoodie. He slipped sideways, lying limp on the iced floor. A blade of air slicing past me and crashed into the wall a foot to my left, shaking the entire cave.

I whipped around to see Drifloon surrounded. Her eyes started to glow purple, and the arbok lifted off the air surrounded by an identical purple aura. Before Drifloon could complete her attack the zubat behind her launched a jet of stars that clipped her side, sending her spiraling through the air.

Using the weak grasp I had on telekinesis, I yanked her back on my direction. Stepping in front of Hilton I raised my hands, reaching for my psychic power.

"We've got to protect him," I mumbled to Drifloon before closing my eyes to concentrate.

I grabbed at my power forcefully, ignoring the part that begged to run wild. The back of my head sparked and I felt my eyes start to glow. I grabbed the zubut out of the air with Confusion, rattling him violently. The poison-type plummeted to the floor in an unconscious heap, and I indulged myself in a victory cheer. Drifloon spun again, shooting another Ominous Wind at our opponents. The three grunts dove for cover, but golbat managed to slip out of the attack's range, darting to the left. He beat his wings, sending another Air Cutter rocketing towards us. I threw myself backward, but Drifloon was unable to dodge. The attack hit her full on and she crashed into the opposite wall in a shower of dust.

"Drifloon!" I shouted, looking between the dust cloud and Hilton's crumpled form in indecision. With effort, Drifloon's shuddering form floated off the cave floor. Her eyes began to glow purple again and arbok lifted off the ground. Not losing the opportunity, I focused again and grabbed at the golbat with Confusion. I shook him with all my might, hoping the type advantage would be enough again. My physic power slipped from my grasp, and golbat still hung in the air but looked tired and worn. Arbok lay in a tangled pile, fainted. Drifloon joined me at my side, and we stared down the golbat.

Were we doing it? Drifloon and I, who started out as the weak links, could now go toe to toe with Reliance! Adrenaline raced through my veins, sending warm blood to my numb limbs and making them feel like they were on fire. I didn't care. We'd done it!

The golbat looked back at his trainer, radiating nervousness. I grinned.

But then, several more figures rounded the corner and my happiness dropped like a stone into my stomach. Everything went cold again. I clenched my jaw grimly, looking at the hoard of approaching Reliance grunts.

I turned toward Drifloon and she tilted his head in a question. I looked back at Hilton's form. There was no way we could get him out of here in time. Directing my gaze back to Drifloon, I stared into her dark eyes.

"Let's give 'em a fight to remember," I whispered.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** I have no idea why so many characters have names that start with the letter "C" in this series. It's very unusual, especially since I tend to favor "A" names more…

 **Fun Fact** : In the early _early_ versions of this story, there was no Reliance. I believe it was all just Team Galactic? Oh, and Cynthia had a gun-wielding evil twin.


	21. Sacrifice

**Chapter 21: Sacrifice**

 **(***)**

During past several hours Cenric had suffered through a long and tedious evacuation process. He would've liked to get some sleep, but the grunts barging in every other hour made it impossible. The base was being closed down section by section, and Cenric was being moved to progressively smaller and less accommodating rooms. That day they'd allowed him to see his pokémon several more times, but each time they'd shied away from him. He tried to see them even more, but once the evacuation started the grunts refused his requests. After the initial incident the Commander, Cyan, Alimer, and Palmer had vanished. Either they weren't here anymore or couldn't be bothered to deal with an emotionally unstable basket case. Cenric scowled at that.

He rolled onto his side, pressing deeper into the couch. He didn't even have a bed anymore. They'd tossed him into what looked like a former Reliance break room, though it'd been stripped of most its amenities already. Besides his couch, only a few tables, a smattering of chairs, and a barren counter top remained between the white walls.

Cenric shifted again, trying to block the suffocating whiteness from his vision. If he stared at it, the walls seemed to warp and bend inwards in him. He swore he still saw them even when he closed his eyes. Sighing, Cenric ran a hand through his hair. It needed to be washed, but before he never had the energy to shower, and now he lost the opportunity. He couldn't tell if the room smelled like chemicals or if the smell had just burned itself on the inside of his nose.

The faint threads of a crescendoing conversation broke into his thoughts. Probably more grunts preparing to move him again. Cenric twisted away from the door. His body ached, and he didn't have the strength or the willpower to move. If they wanted him somewhere else, they'd have to drag him.

"You know he's supposed to be kept in isolation," one of the grunts said, stopping outside the door. Cenric found himself listening despite himself.

"This is the only room that'll work, I'm telling you! It'll only be for half an hour. Then we'll transfer him to the next base, and these guys will go where ever the Commander wants them," a second voice countered.

"If she finds out, she'll kill us," said a third.

"Fine!" shouted the second, "If she finds out, I'll take the blame for it. Now open that door so I can drop this idiot. He weighs a ton."

After a reluctant pause, the door slid open. Cenric refused to give in to his curiosity and give them the satisfaction of acknowledging their presence. They dropped something with a soft thud and the door slid closed again. After waiting for their footsteps to grow faint, Cenric pushed himself up and turned around to examine his impromptu cell mates.

His eyes widened. His mouth went dry. He lurched forward, stumbling off the couch and causing his stitches to throb with hot fire. He ignored it and stumbled toward them, falling to his knees by their sides.

"Hilton!" he shouted, shaking the boy's shoulder. Hilton rolled over, limply. He looked dangerous pale, and he wasn't coming to consciousness. He looked thinner than before, and the mutated half of his face, which had always looked gaunt, appeared positively skeletal now. What had they done to him? Cenric rested the back of his hand against Hilton's pallid forehead but jerked it away. Arceus, he was freezing! He pressed two fingers against Hilton's neck and managed to find a weak pulse.

"Oh, thank Arceus!" Cenric breathed. He moved over to the first of two pokémon. Drilfloon lay unconscious, and his gaze drifted over the second pokémon.

"No way! That can't be you Noël‽" Cenric cried, crawling over to the kirlia and grasping his inhumanly narrow shoulders. Dust and small cuts covered his pale frame.

The pokémon cracked an eye open, exposing a flash of crimson iris. As soon as he focused on Cenric's face both eyes snapped open and he jumped up.

' _Cenric!'_ Noël shouted, projecting his child-like voice directly into Cenric's brain. Cenric noted with a quick smile that Noël's voice had gotten slightly deeper with his evolution. ' _Is it really you‽ Or am I under my own illusion again?'_ Noël asked, smile faltering.

Again?

"No, I'm really here," Cenric said, pulling the thin pokémon into a tight hug. "I can't believe it. How are you here? How did they capture you?" he asked, voice growing hoarse.

Noël frowned bitterly at that, but his mouth twisted into a triumphant smile. ' _Yeah, they cornered us just outside, but Drifloon and I put up a fight. We took a couple of them down before they knocked him out,'_ Noël said, casting a glance in Drifblim's direction. _'After that, I tried to teleport us away, but I couldn't,'_ he admitted smile falling.

"You can teleport‽" Cenric exclaimed. This was their ticket to freedom!

Noël looked away, unable to meet Cenric's gaze. ' _It…doesn't always work. I can't really choose when or where…I've teleported us into even worse places,'_ he said with a shudder, recalling some memory Cenric hadn't been a part of. What in the world had they gone through in his absence? How much time had passed? Where were they? Was Lawrence around?

Before any of the multitudes of questions could escape his lips, Noël jumped past him to Hilton's side, immediately pressing his head into Hilton's chest. Before Cenric could question the sudden display of affection, Noël withdrew and breathed a sigh of relief.

' _Thank Arceus, he's still breathing,'_ Noël mumbled, staring at Hilton's face with brow knitted in concern.

"What happened to him? He's frozen," Cenric said, trying to figure out the best way to warm Hilton without the use of blankets or warm water.

Noël turned to stare at Cenric with a curious look. ' _We're inside the Ice Path right now, didn't you know?'_ he asked with a cocked head.

"What? Where is that? It doesn't feel cold. Besides, it's the middle of summer, right? Tell me it's still July!" Cenric said, panic creeping into his voice.

Noël nodded slowly, scanning Cenric with an uncertain look. ' _It's only been about five days since you got captured,'_ he said carefully, never taking his eyes off Cenric's face.

"Five days," whispered Cenric, trying to keep the stunned expression off his face. He couldn't let Noël realize how much Reliance had gotten to him in that short time. He tried playing it off with a casual grin. The pokémon's crimson eyes narrowed at Cenric's performance. "You never told me what happened to Hilton," Cenric said quickly, breaking eye contact with the troublingly perceptive pokémon to stare at Hilton.

Noël's mouth twisted in worry. ' _I don't know. He was vomiting before we escaped into the cave, but then he went to sleep and I couldn't wake him up.'_

That wasn't good. If they didn't get out of here soon and get Hilton to a real hospital, they'd have to ask the Reliance doctors for help. They could probably keep him alive, but Arceus knows what else they'd do to him.

"Okay, here's the plan," Cenric said, gratified to see Reliance hadn't made him completely useless yet. "The grunts are going to come in to move us to another room soon. If they think the three of you are unconscious, they might not come prepared, and I don't think the Commander is here anymore or Cyan and her cronies. That just leaves the admin, Mable," Cenric said.

' _She's gone too!'_ Noël interjected, _'I heard some of the guards talking'!_ he said with a smile.

"No wonder they were dumb enough to throw you guys in here with me," he mumbled to himself. The Commander really would have their heads when she found out. "Anyway," he said, looking back at Noël, "When the guards come in they'll probably try to take me first since I'm conscious. Once they're distracted trying to cuff me, do you think you can take them from behind?" he asked.

' _I think I have enough energy left for one Confusion,'_ Noël said with a frown. _'But I don't think Drifloon is going to wake up anytime soon. She took a lot of damage out there.'_

Cenric sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not ideal, but we don't have much of a choice. It's now or never," he said, sitting back down on the couch and resting his head in his hands. "I can carry Hilton out. Do you think you could manage Drifloon?" Cenric asked.

Noël scrambled over to Hilton, sticking his thin hand down the neck of Hilton's hoodie. With a triumphant grin, he pulled out a necklace from which a shrunken poké ball hung. Before he could withdraw Drifloon, voices echoed from the hall.

"Pretend to be unconscious!" Cenric hissed, laying down on the couch and trying to recapture the same position they'd left him in. He could hear Noël scrambling over Hilton to where he'd originally been.

The door clicked open, revealing a pair of grumbling Reliance grunts, lamenting their misfortune at having to move the prisoners by themselves yet again.

"Here, help me grab the ugly one," the first man said, and Cenric heard their footsteps stop, presumably by Hilton. No! That wasn't the plan!

Mind racing, Cenric stirred, sitting upright on the couch and turning to face them. He yawned and stretched, pretending to have come out of a deep sleep. "Not you guys again!" he moaned. The grunts scowled at each other then stepped in his direction.

The man withdrew a set of handcuffs, spinning them around a gloved index finger, and the woman followed close behind carrying an equally irritated look.

Cenric rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck, taking glances past the grunts at Noël's limp form. Why wasn't he moving?

"Anytime now, Noël," Cenric said in the middle of a fake yawn. No response.

"Hey, what did you say, kid?" the man asked, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Oh, you know," Cenric said, straining to keep his voice steady and beginning to stretch his arms, "From that one sitcom, _'anytime now, Noël'_ " he stressed, taking another anxious glance at the pokémon. He massaged his sweaty palms, forcing his breathing to stay even. "You know, the main guy was always saying _'anytime now, Noël'_ " he repeated, nearly shouting the last bit.

The man scowled with an eye roll only someone at the end of a twelve-hour shift of heavy manual labor and dealing with incompetent coworkers can perform. "Enough games," he growled, yanking Cenric off the couch by the arm and twisting him around to pin his hands behind his back.

Cenric felt the first metal cuff snap around his wrist. "Now, Noël!" Cenric shouted, abandoning all pretense.

The female grunt screamed, causing both her partner and Cenric to jump in surprise. He heard her collapse to the floor with a soft thud, and the second grunts grip on his arm loosened. Cenric rammed the heel of his foot down on the man's toes. An angry cry escaped the man's lips as he doubled over. Without a second thought, Cenric whipped around, slamming his elbow into the man's face and sending him tumbling sideways to the floor.

The grunt shouted nonsense syllables, clutching at the bloody stump that was formally a nose.

Cenric's blood ran hot, and adrenaline rushed through his brain in a feverish haze. All that ran through his mind was the pain Reliance had caused him. He strode over the man. On seeing his approach, the grunt tried to get back up to his feet, snarling at Cenric like a feral dog. With matching ferocity, Cenric kicked him in the ribs, causing him to collapse again.

A crimson light flashed behind him as Noël withdrew Drifloon. With the toe of his shoe, Cenric pushed the bloodied grunt onto his back. Cenric crouched down next to him, meeting the man's glare.

"How do we get out?" Cenric growled. The man only grimaced. The blood from his broken nose leaked down and stained his teeth red. "Tell me!" Cenric hissed, grabbing the man by the collar of his shirt and lifting him several inches off the ground.

' _Cenric, they'll hear us,'_ cautioned Noël, but Cenric ignored the warning.

The man looked at Cenric and let out a gurgling laugh, spraying Cenric's face with drops of blood. Cenric dropped the man in disgust, recoiling. He stood and made a feint at walking away before whipping around and kicking the man in the head.

"Reliance trash!" Cenric spat, wiping the blood off his flushed face with the sleeve of his turtleneck. The man's head lolled to the side, unconscious. In a swift movement, Cenric bent over and yanked the man's card key off his neck before turning towards Noël.

The kirlia turned away, avoiding his gaze and focusing on Hilton. It made Cenric feel uneasy.

"He was just gonna call for backup after we left," Cenric said, walking towards the pokémon. "Besides, it doesn't like you held back either," he added, stepping off the female grunt's body. Her still-open eyes had rolled up into her head.

' _If you say so,'_ Noël said in a voice that said 'I don't believe you, but we have more important things to worry about'. It was infuriating. He'd been trapped in a terrorist compound for days and now Noël was giving him lip about his methods?

"Listen, you don't know what it's been like here," Cenric said, crouching down in front of Hilton and pulling him onto his own back by the arms. Cenric pulled Hilton's arms over his own shoulders and held them there to keep the boy in place. Straining, he pushed himself to his feet, legs shaking under Hilton's weight. Arceus, how did he get so weak in five days? Cenric's stomach wound throbbed in answer, but he pushed the pain out of his mind and focused on Noël.

Cenric opened the door, shifting Hilton's weight before stepping out into the hallway. The door automatically locked behind them. "Do you remember which way they brought you?" he asked Noël, who nodded and took the lead. He followed the kirlia in silence. There were so many things he wanted to say. How terrible the Commander's daily visits were and how deluded she was. How many times he'd originally tried to escape. The way they'd turned his own pokémon against him. The stitches on his stomach and the bruises that covered his body like rot. How glad he was that they escaped. The way he'd almost given up until Arceus had thrown him this last lifeline. But the words turned to ash on his tongue.

Noël paused behind a corner, motioning to Cenric to stop as well. All at once the temperature dropped several degrees, and goose bumps stretched at his skin.

' _We're almost to the exit,'_ Noël said, tiptoeing forward to peak around the edge, ' _but there are grunts near the door. They're carrying boxes out_ ,' he reported, turning back to look at Cenric. ' _What do we do?'_

"Just tell me when it's clear and we'll make a run for it," Cenric whispered, distracted by Hilton's seemingly increasing weight. Even though the mutated boy seemed thinner now, the days in captivity had worn on Cenric's body also. Every bruise from Alimer's beating ached as Hilton's dead weight pressed into his back. His stomach screamed at the tension on his stitches, making it impossible to think clearly.

Noël made a false start, almost tripping Cenric in the process.

' _Sorry! Another grunt just came around the corner_!' Noël said with a frown. Cenric gritted his teeth. His legs felt weak under the combined weight.

' _Now!'_ Noël shouted, dashing for the door with nimble strides. Cenric hobbled behind as quickly as he could, pulling Hilton's arm tight to keep the boy from slipping off. Why was Noël so fast‽ The pokémon cracked open the heavy door, and slipped out, letting a cold blast of air in and leaving Cenric alone in the empty corridor.

Groaning, Cenric willed his body to move faster, speeding up into a half-jog. Every collision his feet made with the floor sent a spike of pain up his body, but as he passed through the open door, he could barely feel it.

Freezing air invaded his lungs like being punched, but he didn't care. His nasal cavity stung, as tears threatened to fall. He jogged after Noël in the dimly-lit cave. He was free. Actually free. All those hours he'd spent imagining it, and here it was.

The cave expanded out before them, ice glinting by the lanterns the grunts hung. In the grey light-some of which must've been coming from the outside-the maze of ice unveiled itself. It was a natural house of mirrors. Cenric followed behind Noël for several more minutes before the pokémon began to slow.

"Do you know the way out from here?" Cenric whispered, finally catching up with Noël.

Noël paused, surveying the cave slowly. ' _I think so.'_ His tone was unconvincing.

Cenric strode forward, peering around the bend ahead. A red dawn greeted him, bathing his face in tempting warmth and filling the cavern with crimson light. He jogged around the corner, glancing back at Noël, a weary smile playing on his lips.

"It's the exit! We're almos—"a patch of black ice on the ground cut his observation short. His left foot slid out from beneath him, and without the use of his hands he couldn't right himself in time. Cenric stumbled forward, vainly trying to regain balance. He fell forward, knees slamming into the icy rock first, followed by his chest and face.

He couldn't escape the shout that passed his lips as the jagged rock ground against his stitches. White hot pain radiated through his freezing torso. He pushed Hilton's dead weight off his back and the limp boy rolled into a shallow gutter under an overhang. Cenric turned onto his back and bit down hard on his lip to keep any more sounds from echoing around the cavern.

' _Cenric!'_ Noël shouted, and all of the sudden the kirlia was at his side. Hands fluttering over his chest. ' _What's wrong! How can I help?'_

"I think one of my stitches popped," managed Cenric through shuddering breathes.

Noël's ruby eyes widened. Even he knew that wasn't good.

Angry voice echoed from behind them. Cenric sat up, the pull on his stitches almost bringing him to tears. He pulled himself to his feet, breathing in labored gasps.

' _Hold on! I might be able to heal you!'_ Noël said, taking nervous glances behind him.

"No time," Cenric managed, bracing himself against the wall. They couldn't fight their way out. Not when Noël was too exhausted to be able to use any moves, Hilton was unconscious, and he was on the verge of passing out. "Meet up at closest town," Cenric managed, and as the Reliance grunts rounded the corner, he kicked Noël into the gutter with Hilton, where they were almost hidden from view. Almost.

Cenric hobbled towards the exit. People shouted from behind him, but he ignored them. He watched the rising sun cover the trees in scarlet, and letting himself believe, if just for a moment, he would make it.

Rough hands closed around his shoulders.

His captor spun him around so roughly that he almost tumbled to the ground. Cenric surveyed the woman in front of him. Cyan's hair looked frazzled, and her narrow eyebrows pressed together lightly so it didn't quite touch her eyes. She looked mildly irritated, but Cenric guessed that in someone an inexpressive as Cyan, that meant she was furious. She studied his face, trying to find something and failing.

"Where are they‽" shouted a rough voice from behind her.

Cenric closed his eyes. Of course _they_ wouldn't be close behind.

Cyan's cold hands released him just for a second pair of hands to grab him by the shirt and hoist him off his feet. He opened his eyes to stare at Alimer, letting his body go limp.

"You heard me!" the redhead growled, leaning in close so puffs of frosty air spilt on Cenric's face. "Where are the others?"

"What others?" Cenric gasped, using all his willpower to keep from glancing in Noël's direction. Alimer's eyes glinted, and a smile parted his lips.

"You're dead on your feet, but you still wanna play it this way?" he asked, grin stretching wider, and for a moment Cenric saw Lawrence in him. Cenric's eyes drifted past Alimer's face to Cyan, who stood several feet behind them. The subtle emotion he'd witness before vanished, replaced with her usual blank expression.

Cenric opened his mouth to speak, but only choked on his words. Alimer's hold on his turtleneck was suffocating him.

"Alimer," Cyan cautioned.

The sound of his name was enough. With white knuckles and a clenched jaw, Alimer lowered Cenric to the floor. With all the strength he had left, Cenric willed his legs to take the weight of his ragged body once more.

Massaging his bruised neck, Cenric looked up at Alimer. "Where are they?" he managed, voice still shaking, "By now? Half-way to Blackthorn City."

Alimer lunged at him, pushing him up against the wall. A shout escaped Cenric before Alimer had his hands around his neck, keeping him pinned against the sharp ice.

"Don't you know what has to happen now‽" his hissed into Cenric's ear. He withdrew his face, exposing Cenric to the full extent of the fury that contorted his features. "It won't be you that's punished for this! She _needs_ you. She'll punish—!" Cyan slapped the back of his head, cutting him off.

Cenric watched Alimer's face fall as he released his grip. Cenric crumpled to the floor and clutched his stomach with a moan. Alimer wrung his hands, staring at his feet while Cyan stood in front of him. Alimer looked up at Cyan with a pained expression, opening his mouth to validate his actions, but she turned away.

 **(***)**

The only thing that kept me from leaping to Cenric's defense was Hilton's icy body beneath me. Even so, I reached for my power, tearing through my skull for even the slightest inkling of psychic energy. Nothing. Angry tears dripped down my face. Why was I so useless‽ We came so close, but just like when Claire was captured, I couldn't do anything! I couldn't save anyone! Why did Arceus make me like this‽ Did he _want_ Reliance to succeed? Or did he just not care‽

Cenric collapsed onto the floor across the cave across from our hiding place. The boy curled up into a shuddering ball and looked across the floor in our direction. Bleeding scratch marks marred his face where he'd fell minutes ago, laying on top of a foundation of fading purple bruises.

I snuck a glance up at the standing humans. Cyan turned to face her purple-haired lackey while Alimer watched her back with a wounded look on his face.

Noticing their distraction, I crawled to the edge of the gutter, preparing to make a run for Cenric. I had to do something! Anything! Cenric watched me with widening eyes, quickly deducing my plan. He shook his head once.

No.

' _I can't just let them take you! I have to do something!'_ I said.

He shook his head again, taking a pointed glance towards Cyan. Before I could argue Cyan addressed the purple-haired human who'd thus far observed the scene from a distance. "Send grunts to Blackthorn City," she commanded, and he nodded before disappearing back into the cave.

"You know he's lying!" protested Alimer, gesturing the pale human curled up on the cave floor.

"Take him to the ship," Cyan said, back still turned to Alimer, but addressing him anyways. "I will call the Commander," she said, head sinking slightly. The rising sun filled the cavern with a toxic crimson. It caught in the tangles of Cyan's light hair and silhouetted her form like the world was burning behind her.

Alimer stepped forward, grabbing one of her pale wrists. "Don't…" he murmured, unable to meet her gaze. "You know what she'll do to you."

Cyan, almost gently, pulled her hand away from his grasp.

"Inconsequential," she murmured, glancing at the Holo Caster strapped to her wrist. "Take him to the ship then join me on Route 44," she said and started back towards the base.

Glowering, Alimer bent down and hoisted Cenric over his shoulder with ease, eliciting a cry of pain from the wounded boy. The duo vanished behind the bend, and I watched the long shadows they cast follow.

Cyan's shadow paused, and Alimer followed suit behind. Murmurs of a conversation echoed across the cavern, but it ended in Alimer continuing on, leaving Cyan's shadow in solidarity. She reached for her wrist, and after a brief silence, the murmuring continued.

"What‽" cried a harsh voice, distorted by static. I was surprised the Holo Caster could communicate within the Ice Path at all. "You useless girl!" the voice vaguely feminine sounding voice shouted.

"We are in the final stages of our plan!" she shouted, but then paused to compose herself. "Very well," the voice continued in a more controlled tone. "Our research in Johto was finished anyways. I want that base emptied and destroyed within the hour. Do not fail me again," the voice said. A deafening silence rang out. I watched Cyan, waiting for her to follow Alimer back to the base, but she stood there, staring at her Holo Caster in silence.

Then she moved on, and her dark imprint vanished from my view.

I gritted my teeth, looking from where she'd disappeared to Hilton. I had to get him out of here, then maybe I could get some people to come back and save Cenric….That's what I'd do. Looking back over my shoulder to make sure Cyan was gone, I crept out of the gutter, shivers wracking my body.

Turning around I grabbed Hilton's hoodie and threw my weight backward. He moved several inches before his clothes snagged on the ice covered rocks. I cursed, yanking him backward. He didn't budge. Panting, I rubbing my face and began to pace. What could I do? I couldn't climb down the mountain with Hilton. I could barely move him for Arceus's sake.

If only Claire or Lawrence were here, they'd know what to do. Why couldn't they have taken me instead of Cenric‽ Cenric could get Hilton out of here for sure, and he could tell the police everything he knew, and he could storm in and stop Reliance, and Arceus it wasn't fair!

Hot tears stung my face and joined with trails of runny snot. I stumbled back over to Hilton falling on my knees. I cupped my hands, trying to force my power between them. My vision blurred from the tears, but I didn't care. I scraped the crevices of my mind for every remaining spark of energy I had. Harnessing the trifling force, not nearly enough for a Confusion, I pushed it into my hands, forming a shuddering pink ball of energy.

"Arceus, please let this work," I begged, voice cracking. "This has to work!" I pulled my hands apart, stretching the energy ball until it broke into small spheres that rained down on Hilton, filling the cavern with ruby light. They fell on him, collecting around the heaviest areas of mutation before sinking beneath his discolored skin. The light vanished, and I held my breath, leaning over him. Hot tears dripped down my flat nose and landed on his cheek. He didn't move.

Letting out a frustrated cry, I pounded my fist against his chest.

' _You said you'd go to the hospital!'_ I shouted. _'It's not fair! Why do I have to be so weak? I want to be able to save people! I can't stand to keep watching people get hurt when I can do anything to help them!'_ I shouted into the expanse. ' _I'm tired of being weak! I'm tired of being so afraid all of the time.'_ The invading numbness of the cold transformed into painful tingling. My own tears blinded me, and the tingling only intensified. The crack in my head sparked to life, sending a trail of fire tearing down my spine. I gasped, trying to blink away my tears. Where was the powering coming from‽ I was sure I'd used every last tendril!

As the pain escalated, my thought processes dissolved. I fell to the ground, barely feeling the ice beneath my burning flesh. A geyser had erupted inside of me, desperately seeking an escape. It yanked at my legs, and I was sure I was screaming by then. It tried to drill through my forehead with sharp, shooting pain. All at once, my breath caught in my throat. My limbs went cold, but my chest felt like it was on fire. I'd been shot.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't scream. Vaguely, I felt a distant portion of my mind understand what had happened, but it was too far away, and I felt so weak. The pain in my chest faded to a constant throbbing, sparks of powers danced over my limbs, back of my head still burned.

I gasped for air, opening my eyes and coming back into reality like a surfacing diver. I must've been in a fit of seizures because during the episode I'd been thrown onto a large rock. I closed my eyes again and was met by blackness this time.

I spent my minuscule remaining mental energy on controlling my breathing, trying to block out my uncontrolled rampant power. Unbidden, Cyan came to the forefront of my mind. I couldn't stay here for much longer. Who knows how loud I'd screamed or how long my fit had lasted. Strange though, usually seizures like that only happened after something hit the back of my head. Groaning, I cracked my eyes open again. The red dawn had calmed, turning a light blue grey as the sun rose higher.

I lifted my hand to rub my head but missed by a mile. Blinking in confusion, I focused on my hand. With a shriek, and jolted upright.

"Arceus Arceus Arceus," I mumbled. I knew that sensation felt familiar! How though? I twisted my arm in examination. Evolution had lengthened it significantly. Arceus, I was big now! Almost as big as a human! I cast my glance down at the rest of my body and shrieked again. It'd been impaled!

A crimson blade protruded from my chest. That was the reason for the intense pain! I hadn't been thrown on a rock at all!

"Impossible!" I sputtered. This was the Ice Path! There weren't any Dawn Stones around that I could see. I lifted my right arm in front of me, examining the small blade that protruded from my elbow. "It's impossible…" I whispered. Was it a gift from Arceus? Was he finally tired of my incessant whining? Was there actually a Dawn Stone frozen within the ice somewhere? How? _How?_

My thoughts moved at 100 mph, and in that I almost didn't hear the sounds of approaching footstep. I felt their presences nearing, and they felt hostile.

I pulled myself to my feet using the cave wall, supporting most of my weight with my arms. Carefully, I took a light step forward. My knees shook, but to my great relief, I found my new wider feet came with improved balance, unlike the narrow stubs I'd had as a kirlia. With a deep breath, I took another step forward and another. I slowly made my way towards Hilton. Carefully, I released my grip on the wall, lowering my full weight onto my legs. They held. I released the breath I didn't know I'd been holding. Thank Arceus! For once in my life!

I bent over at the hips, not trusting myself to bend at the knees yet, and grabbed Hilton by the collar of his hoodie. Taking a tentative step backward, I found that even in my beaten, exhausted state, I could drag him across the floor.

The grunts rounded the corner, spotting me instantly.

"Hey, over there!"

"Stop!"

"Go, Grimer!"

The back of my head sparked in warning. I didn't have the strength, mentally or physically to fight three healthy Reliance grunts. My head snapped around to the cave entrance and the expanse of dark trees below. The cliff side was too steep. Attempting the descent alone while healthy would be hard, trying it in an unfamiliar body would be a formidable challenge, but trying it in an unfamiliar body while exhausted and trying to carry over hundred pounds of dead weight? Impossible.

"Grimer, use Sludge!"

Diving beneath the acid spray, I wrapped my arms around Hilton body, heaving him into my arms. With shaking legs, I staggered backward and pulled myself up with a hearty groan. Another geyser of acids erupted past my shoulder, and I jerked Hilton's lolling head out of the way. Spinning around, I stumbled towards the opening.

"If this kills me, I'm going to be upset," I mumbled before taking a tentative jump onto the cliff side. My weak legs buckled under me, and I slammed shoulder-first into a tree. The back of my head sparked, but a quick glance in the direction of the Reliance grunts silenced it. Pulling myself off the trunk, I began my flight down the cliff, dodging and weaving amidst the trees that covered the rock face.

I heard the Reliance grunts crash through the forest behind me and veered right, hoping the change in direction would throw them off my trail. I stumbled forward through the brush, not stopping to see if my ruse worked. My heart pounded and my head felt like it was full of static. My entire body ached, and my thin arms shook under Hilton's weight. I couldn't count how many scratches I'd archived on my body from when unfamiliar pieces of me caught on low hanging branches.

As I shifted Hilton's weight in my arms, a spry branch whipped around, smacking me across the face. Groaning, I pushed through the bush, wishing I could massage the stinging line across my cheek.

After several more minutes, I felt the ground shallow out, and the abrupt ending caught me by surprise. I tumbled forward, feeling Hilton's slide out of my arms. I collided with the forest floor, sending a rock jabbing painfully into my left thigh.

"Gyah!" I shouted, burying my head into the dead leaves to muffle the sound. I waited to see if they'd heard. The leaves rustled in the morning breeze, hit by the grey morning light. Spearow watched me from the branches above, letting out curious chirps. Birds, leaves, generic forest noises, and that was it. I sighed in relief, burying my head in the ground again. Thank Arceus! I managed to lose the Reliance grunts somewhere along the way. Though my psychic powers were so drained at the moment that I probably wouldn't be able to sense them even if they were sitting on me.

Grim foreboding tainted my relief as I realized it was only a matter of time until Alimer and Cyan began their search, and it was a good bet more grunts would join them. I moaned into the dead foliage. Planting both hands on the ground, I attempted to push myself up. My arms shook under the stress and collapsed beneath me.

"It's not fair!" I muttered, partially to Arceus, "Why would you magically evolve me," I said between labored breaths, "only for me to be captured again right outside of their base?" In a sudden wave of irritation, I grabbed the rock that'd been jabbing me in the thigh and threw it to the side. It ricocheted off something, coming back to chip my shoulder. Whirling around I came face to face with a pair of pale legs.

"Ow. That hurt."

(***)

 **A/N:** Next week on _Suffering: The Novel_ , more emotional and physical pain for the whole cast (maybe).


	22. Breaking and Entering

**Chapter 22: Breaking and Entering**

 **(***)**

"Lawrence!" I shouted, grabbing his thin legs and pulling them into a tearful embrace.

"You've evolved," he stated, slowly pulling his legs out of my grasp.

"A lot of good it's done me," I said with a frustrated eye roll. "I can barely move."

Lawrence bent over, offering me a hand. Staring at it for a moment, I took it, and he pulled me up. Surprised by my own height, I almost fell again. Lawrence placed his hands on either side of my shoulders, steadying me. I looked down into his face, and an exhausted smile stretched across mine.

"What?" Lawrence asked, blue brows knitting in confusion as his scarlet eyes scanned my face for clues.

"I'm taller than you," I said with a toothy grin.

Rolling his eyes, Lawrence released me to step towards Hilton.

"A little warning, please!" I shouted, flailing to regain my balance and having to use the nearest tree as a brace.

Lawrence ignored my protests, instead crouching down at Hilton's side and running the back of his palm against Hilton's face. His hand shot back like it'd been burnt.

"He's freezing," Lawrence hissed, turning to face me.

"Well, yeah. We spent the night in the Ice Path," I said, massaging my still numb fingers.

Lawrence's face scrunched, and it looked like he was about to question me on that, but decided against it. "We need to warm him up quickly," he said, stepping back and transforming back into his true body.

"I didn't think you knew any fire-type moves," I said, watching him hover over Hilton.

"I do not."

 **(***)**

Ten minutes found me soaring above Johto, desperately trying to keep Hilton from slipping off of Lawrence's back.

' _Can't you fly any faster?'_ I asked over the roaring wind. Lawrence twisted his head to glare at me. After telling him of the events that'd transpired in the previous 24-hours, he'd decided to drop Hilton and myself off at a safe distance before going back to confront Reliance and rescue Cenric.

' _If you were still a ralts, I could fly faster,'_ he said, tilting his body in a circling dive.

Clamping my mouth shut, I directed all my attention to keeping myself and Hilton from falling to our deaths.

Lawrence surprised me by continuing on, ' _While searching for you, I saw a cabin near the lake. It appeared vacant. Hopefully the humans will not mind if we help ourselves to the amenities,'_ he said in a tone that sounded like he could care less if the humans minded.

I didn't respond, worried anything I might say could irritate him again. He flew over another mountainous ridge, revealing a large crater in the ground, overgrown by trees. In the deepest recesses waited a small lake that reflected the grey sky. Lawrence angled downward in a slow, but purposeful descent.

' _Are you going to be okay?'_ I asked after the silence.

' _Are you?'_ he asked, keeping his eyes forward.

' _You know what I mean,'_ I pushed.

' _That is for the future to determine,'_ he said, slowing his descent further so we circled twenty feet above the roof of a log cabin.

' _Did you find your sister?'_ I asked as he glided to the ground.

' _No.'_

' _I'm sorry,'_ was all I could think to say. Lawrence landed, allowing me to slide onto the dirt. I pulled Hilton off, threw his arm around my neck and wrapped mine around his side, trying to support him and failing.

White light filled the space as Lawrence transformed back into a human, slipping in to support Hilton's other side. Together we hobbled towards the cabin door, pausing in front of it.

I looked to Lawrence for guidance, but his delicate face had been pulled into a mask of concentration as he stared at the knob. A wave of goosebumps passed over my skin as the psychic power in the air spiked. The door clicked, and Lawrence used his free hand to pull it open. I stared at him with an open mouth.

' _H-how?'_ I managed, walking with him into the dark interior.

' _Telekinesis on the tumblers_ ,' he said, bringing Hilton to the couch. We carefully placed the unconscious boy down, supporting his head with several pillows.

Lawrence stepped back, crossing his arms and appraising the pale human. "Get him warm," he said.

"What if someone comes?" I asked, turning around to find myself alone. With a sigh, I paced around the cabin. The space was compact and jammed full of mismatching, but not unpleasant furniture. A TV sat above the fire place several feet from Hilton's couch and was bordered by cozy armchairs. A kitchenette and a small dining table made up the other half of the space. I moved unsteadily past it to the pair of wooden doors.

My hand hesitated over the knob. What if someone was in there? Lawrence said it was vacant, but did he really check? And if I was too weak to sense anyone… Taking a deep breath I twisted the knob slowly. It was still bizarre to me to see door knobs from above instead of below like I had for all my life.

The door swung open silently, revealing a small empty bedroom. Letting out my held breath, I laughed a little to myself. The whole incident at the base had me on edge, and why shouldn't it? Images of Cenric flashed through my brain. He had only been missing for five days, but he wore it like it'd been five weeks. He was paler and his black hair hung limply around his face, partially obscuring the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. He'd been covered in bruises, and he moods were erratic and uneven, like someone deprived from sleep. A nervous feeling swirled around in my stomach. He didn't look good. We needed to get him out of there.

Pushing those thoughts out of my already exhausted mind, I opened the second door to reveal a bathroom. After travelling back to the bedroom, I opened the closet door. Pleased to find the top shelf within my new reach, I grabbed for a stack of blankets, but only succeeded in ramming my hand against the wall.

I hissed a curse. My coordination was still off; it was going to take a while to get used to taking up all this space. Slowly and carefully, I wrapped my arms around the stack, pulling them off the shelf and making my way back to Hilton. As I exited the doorway, the extended tip of my elbow hit the frame, almost sending me and my blankets flying.

After snarling at the door frame, and made my way back to Hilton and got to work swaddling him in the collection of blankets I'd gathered. Half way through the process I'd forgotten about Hilton entirely and begun to use it as an exercise in coordination. After I tucked the last blanket in, I held my hand to his face. Some of his color was returning, and he felt marginally warmer. Sighing in relief, I collapsed into the nearby armchair.

Funny, we'd been in a position like this before, except I'd been small enough to curl up on the seat cushion. Pulling my knees off the floor and close to my chest, I leaned my head on them, watching Hilton's chest rise and fall beneath the sheets.

Arceus, I hope he'd be okay. My concern for Hilton started to resist words and my thoughts trailed off.

 **(***)**

"Noël," a voice said, starling from my sleep. I jumped back in the chair, looking at a drenched Lawrence with wide eyes.

' _Don't scare me like that!'_ I said, placing a hand over my beating heat. The faux human frowned; his wet hair dripped down his round face and onto my legs. The sight of movement dragged my eyes from Lawrence to the window.

' _It's raining_ ,' I stated, watching the grey haze. It pelted the roof and the world around us, sounding like white noise.

' _It has been four hours,'_ Lawrence said, stepping back wringing his soaking shirt out on the floor.

' _What?'_ I exclaimed. ' _I can't have fallen asleep for that long,'_ I protested. I looked over at Hilton. He laid in the same position I'd left him. My gut clenched. He'd been unconscious for a long time. We had to get him to a hospital.

Lawrence sank into the opposing arm chair, resting his arms on his knees and rubbing his face with his hands. "I didn't find anything," he mumbled.

' _What?'_ What was he talking about now?

"The base,"he repeated, trying to hide his annoyance. "The base in the Ice Path was destroyed."

' _What_ _‽_ _How_ _‽_ _'_ I exclaimed, jumping to the end of the armchair and clenching the armrests. ' _Only twenty minutes at best could've passed between when we escaped and when you found us! They couldn't have evacuated and destroyed it in that amount of time!'_ I protested.

"They collapsed the tunnel," Lawrence said, eyes sharp and jaw tight. "Everything they left behind is covered in a mountain's worth of ice and rock."

' _Did you make it to Mahogany Town?'_ I asked. ' _Cenric told me to meet him there!'_ I insisted. There had to be a way.

"No traces," Lawrence said, glaring out the dripping window.

' _I know someone, the leader I think, was threatening Cyan to have it evacuated within the hour or something, but I didn't think she'd actually do collapse the tunnel'_ I mumbled, staring into the empty fireplace.

Lawrence eyes flicked back to me, studying me with an unreadable expression.

' _What?'_ I asked, shrinking under his gaze into the armchair.

"Supposedly gallade can sense intentions,"Lawrence said carefully.

My eyes widened. _'You're kidding me!_ ' I said, closing me eyes and trying to concentrate. I felt Lawrence's laid back skepticism before me and the weak flicker of Hilton's psyche. How was I supposed to sense what they were thinking? My telempathy still wasn't working, so maybe it was more like telepathy? I focused on Lawrence, squeezing my eyes tighter in concentration. What was I looking for though?

A vision of Lawrence flicking me in the ear passed through my brain. Wait, what? Seconds later a sharp pain struck the tip of my ears, and I shot out of the chair. My heart raced from the surprise.

Lawrence smirked, withdrawing the hand he'd used to flick me.

Scowling, I massaged the tip of my ear. Ears were new too. Until previously I'd just had ear slots nestled under my skull plate, but now that that bone growth had receded, two cartilaginous fins extended back off my face, protecting them instead.

Returning my attention back to Lawrence, I cocked my head. ' _I-I think I felt that coming_ ,' I said.

"You read my mind?"Lawrence asked, raising an eyebrow and looking impressed for once in his life.

' _It wasn't like that … I just kinda felt it,'_ I said, struggling to put words to such an intangible sensation.

"Let's try again then," Lawrence said, "see if you can dodge."

I nodded, closing my eyes. I heard his soft footsteps as he circled around me. My chest tingled and I felt him lunge at my right, my eyes snapped open and I threw myself backwards, but Lawrence's initial strike turned into a feint, and his flicked me on the other ear.

"Hey!" I shouted, rubbing my other throbbing ear. Lawrence returned to his seat with an entertained smile splitting his face. ' _That wasn't fair!'_ I said.

The boy shrugged. "Neither is life."

' _Yeah, tell me about it,_ ' I scoffed, releasing my ear and directing my attention down to my chest where I'd felt the strange tingling sensation. I ran a light finger over the crimson horn that protruded from my chest, and it sent a familiar shudder up my spine. That horn had been the greatest cause of my agony during evolution, an even now four hours later it still ached, but in return it'd given me an entire new arsenal of abilities.

' _Since it comes from my head instead of my chest, it shouldn't cause me any problems right?'_ I asked, growing excited.

"Come over here and turn around," Lawrence said, gesturing with a pale hand. Confused, but too scared to refuse, I got up and kneeled with my back towards him. His fingertips trailed over the back of my head, reaching my old injury. As his hand brushed the cracked bone, a jolt of sparks shot through my head, filling my vision with white orbs.

"It did not heal," Lawrence mumbled, moving his hand away. "I thought it would…"

' _What? What?'_ I asked, turning my head to look at him.

"You sense emotions with the fin on top of your head, correct?" Lawrence asked, and I nodded. "And you sense the intentions of others with the projections on your chest and back?"

' _Yeah, what of it?'_ I asked, trying to twist around but only wrapping myself in a knot instead.

"Where do you draw your power from when you use Confusion, or attempt telekinesis? _"_ he asked, examining me.

Sighing, I pointed to the crack in my head.

Lawrence rested his head on his hands with a frown _. "_ If the organ on your chest is separate from the root of your powers at the back of your head then you should not experience any difficultly in that respect, but if it is not…" Lawrence trailed off.

I scowled, banging my fists against the carpeted floor. "This is all your fault," I said to Hilton. "If you hadn't dropped me down the stairs, maybe I could heal you right now, and who knows what else."

"Heal?" Lawrence asked, looking up with interest.

' _Yeah, I learned Heal Pulse while you were gone too, but it doesn't work on humans,'_ I said bitterly.

"Show me," Lawrence said, standing up and moving to Hilton's side. With a frown, I pulled myself off the floor and hobbled over to the couch

Closing my eyes and cupping my hands, I reached for my power. It flared at my intrusion, scattering like leaves in the wind. Scowling, I grabbed ahold of it, forcing it to flow down my neck, across my shoulders, down my arms, and into my palms. Opening my eyes, I watched the ball of pink energy grow, filling the cabin with a soft glow. Pulling my hands apart, the sphere expanded until it popped into hundreds of smaller balls, falling over Hilton like rain.

They sunk into his skin, and all at once the room was dim again. ' _See?'_ I said, gesturing to Hilton's still-unconscious body. ' _Nothing.'_

"I do not think the problem lied with you in this particular instance," Latios said, never taking his eyes off Hilton. "When I was younger, I also knew Heal Pulse, and what you performed looked correct," he said. "But as you say, it does not affect humans."

' _Ugh!'_ I groaned, throwing my hands into the air, ' _Why do my powers have to be so useless_ _‽_ _'_

"Useless as they are, they did allow you to evolve without a Dawn Stone," he pointed out.

' _A lot of good that did me! If you hadn't found us when you did, Cyan would have!'_ I said, pacing around the room.

"N-Noël?" whispered a hoarse voice from behind us.

Tearing around with such force I almost fell, I sprinted to Hilton's side and sank to my knees.

' _Y-you're okay! You're okay!'_ I said, burying my face in in my hands. _'Thank Arceus…'_

' _You're bigger_ ,' Hilton said with a weak smile.

Something flashed white behind us, and I turned to see Latios-back in his natural form-releasing a jet of blue fire into the fireplace, igniting the logs there. He glided back to us, and flew behind the couch. Leaning his side against it, he pushed it towards the fire. With a yelp, I jumped out of the way and helped pull from the side.

After situating Hilton close to the fire, Latios transformed back, perching on the armrest to stare at Hilton.

' _What can I get you?'_ I asked, hands fluttering over his body, ' _Do you need more blankets? I can get you more blankets!'_ I said, stepping back.

"Water," Hilton managed, breaking into a cough.

' _Yeah! Water! Got it!'_ I said, stumbling towards the kitchen. I tore opening the cabinets, revealing shelves full of boxed food and cans.

"Humans keep water in the cold box," Lawrence called from behind.

Cold box? Oh, the refrigerator! I'd been around humans my entire life, but I never paid attention to the complexities of their dining equipment. Just picking berries off trees seemed so much easier. I pulled open the fridge, releasing a cold gust of air into the room. It was much sparser than the cabinets, but I did see a jug of water in the back corner.

I dragged it off the shelf and almost dropped it because of its surprising weight. Hobbling back, I presented the gallon to Lawrence. He stared at me with skepticism.

"How is he supposed to drink it out of that?" he asked, eyeing the heavy jug. Groaning, I set the container down on the coffee table and scuttled back to the kitchen. Second later I presented Lawrence with the cup.

' _It'd probably best if you poured it,'_ I said holding up my hands and wiggling my knobby fingers. Humans, for all their flaws, do possess surprising dexterity. Rolling his eyes, Lawrence poured Hilton a glass of water.

"Noël, can you help me up?" Hilton croaked, trying to push his upper body off the couched. With one arm I helped lift him, and with the other I reorganized the pillows to prop him up. Hilton sunk back into them, taking the glass from Lawrence and downing it all in one motion.

"Can I have some more?" he asked, offering the empty glass to Lawrence. As Lawrence filled it again, I heard Hilton's stomach rumble.

' _Oh! Food!'_ I said, _'I'll go grab some!'_ I said, heading back towards the kitchen. Opening the cabinets again, I grabbed the first box I saw and headed back to the couch.

' _Here you go,'_ I said, proudly presenting my find to the human. Slowly, Hilton took the box, inspecting it.

"Noël…" he started slowly, a weak smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, "this is a box of breadcrumbs," he said, showing me the label on the front of the box.

' _You know I can only read numbers!'_ I said, throwing my hands in the air. ' _Lawrence, you go get him something to eat,'_ I said in exhaustion, sitting on the couch by Hilton's waist.

Lawrence face twisted, and for a moment I thought he would refuse, but he slipped off the arm rest and walked towards the kitchen. After internally breathing a sigh of relief, I directed my attention back to Hilton.

"How long?"Hilton croaked after finishing his third glass of water.

' _You passed out yesterday evening, and I think it's around 10'ish the next day?'_ I said, looking around for a clock.

"You evolved. What happened? How did we get here? When did Lawrence show up?" Hilton asked, voice growing progressively stronger.

' _Lawrence found us early this morning. How_ **did** _you find us anyways, Lawrence?'_ I asked, but something crashed to the floor in the kitchen.

"What was that?" mumbled Hilton, craning his neck to see.

Lawrence reappeared from behind the cabinets, covered in Cheerios and holding a yellow bottle in his hands. Trying to look dignified, he strode across the room and placed the bottle in Hilton's hands.

Hilton stared from Lawrence to the bottle before releasing a loud sputtering sound that caused me to start. Hilton started to laugh, long and hoarse.

"L-Lawrence," he said through the giggling, "t-this is a bottle of mustard," he cackled. I strained to keep the smile of my face with limited success. Latios flushed a violent crimson. "I-I can't eat this," Hilton said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Of course you can," Lawrence snarled, grabbing the mustard bottle from his hands and squirting some into his mouth. Immediately, he doubled over, gagging. I shrunk back in disgust, but Hilton only renewed his bout of laughter.

"This is vile!" Lawrence spat, tossing the bottle of mustard across the room. He took one look at Hilton—who was still in the middle of his laughing fit—before snarling and storming past us. After he'd vanished into the bedroom, Hilton still giggled to himself.

"I don't think he knows how to read either," Hilton confessed in a whispered, looking back at the open bedroom door.

"I can still hear you!" Lawrence shouted.

Managing to wipe the grin off my face, I tried to compose myself. _'How did you find us anyways, Lawrence?'_ I called.

"A human named Staci told me you left for Route 44 yesterday," Lawrence called back, and my eyes widened. It was Hilton's turn to flush now, and he avoided my gaze.

"Where's Drifloon?" Hilton eventually asked, breaking his gaze from the crackling fire.

I answered his last question by tugging on the exposed strip of his necklace, pulling the poké ball attached from beneath the blankets.

Hilton's pallid hand wrapped around the sphere, and he gently pressed the button in the middle. Drifloon appeared on his lap in a flash of red light, still unconscious from the night before. Hilton scooped the pokémon up with concern.

' _I can try to heal her when I have more energy. She protected you_ ,' I said quietly. ' _You should've seen her take on those Reliance grunts.'_

"Reliance grunts!" Hilton repeated, nearly jumping off the couch. "We were—!"

I cut him off, ' _We were_ ,' I said, pushing him back down. ' _We can talk about it when you feel a little better,'_ I said cautiously.

"I feel better already!" He said. "I just got a little cold and sleepy. That's all!" Hilton protested.

' _Hilton, you were unconscious for_ **fourteen** _hours. Remember the promise you made me? You need to go back to the hospital',_ I said.

Hilton withdrew Drifloon and pushed himself up to his feet, ignoring my attempts to keep him down.

' _Hilton! Be reasonable!'_ I said, stepping in his way. Again, I was surprised to see him at my full height. We finally could look each other in the face, instead of him constantly looking down at me.

"I'm just going to take a shower, and I'll feel a lot better, okay?" Hilton said, taking a wobbly step towards the bathroom door.

Once and idiot, always an idiot! Groaning, I supported his side and helped him towards the bathroom. Pausing one we reached the door, I extended my hand towards the knob.

"I can take it from here, Noël," Hilton assured me, opening the door himself and breaking from my support. Half of me wanted to follow him, but having an argument wasn't what he needed right now.

I heard the shower flip on, mixing with the sound of rain from the outside. With a sigh, I sat myself down in front of the fire watching the flames dance.

(***)

 **A/N:** R&R please lovelies!~


	23. Old Friends!

**Chapter 23: Old Friends!**

 **(***)**

"Hey, Noël," a voice whispered, and I started.

"Arceus, did I fall asleep again!" I shouted in frustration.

"Yes," called a bored voice from the sofa. I turned around to see Lawrence curled up behind me enjoying a bowl of soup. Hilton, the voice who'd woken me, offered me one as well.

Taking it with a sigh, I reclaimed my seat in the armchair, and Hilton joined Lawrence on the couched. "See?" he said, holding the bowl up, "this is food."

Lawrence looked away, glowering. I glanced outside, trying to gauge how long I'd been asleep, but all I could see was a grey haze. If anything, the rain had worsened. Hilton's hair still looked damp from his shower, so it couldn't have been for too long.

"I mean, if anything Noël, you need to go to the hospital," Hilton bridged after taking a few spoonfuls of soup, "Maybe you're narcoleptic." Lawrence snorted at that.

' _I am not narcoleptic!'_ I shouted, _'I just had a crazy night last night. A night which you were unconscious through, I might add,'_ I pointed out.

Hilton shrugged, "It couldn't have been that bad," he said casually.

' _Not that bad!'_ I sputtered ' _Not that-wait a minute, I know what you're doing,'_ I said, narrowing my eyes, surprised at his cunning.

Hilton groaned. "Just tell me Noël. Look at me, I'm better now! I just had to warm up is all," he said gesturing to himself. Hilton, chiefly because of his mutation, _never_ looked good. He came in different shades of worse and worse. The left side of his face was still indigo, still covered in peeling scales, his left eye still looked like it'd hemorrhaged, and the left half of his mouth still twisted into a permanent grimace. I did have to admit, the right side of his face, despite the dark circles under his eyes and splotches of indigo, looked better. He no longer looked like a drowning victim, pale and flaccid.

Relenting, I began retelling the events when he'd first fallen unconscious. Hilton gasped when I told him I'd found a Reliance base, and cringed when I couldn't wake him. I told him how hard Drifloon and I had fought, and how I pretended to be unconscious.

' _Then they put us in a cell with Cenric, and we—'_

"Cenric‽" Hilton shouted, nearly dropping his soup. "Where is he? What happened‽" Hilton shouted, eyes wide. He scanned the room as if Cenric was hiding somewhere, ready to jump out and yell "surprise!".

My mouth pressed into a thin line, and I wrung my hands. ' _He was really tired, Hilton. We both were. I hadn't evolved yet, so he had to carry you. We made it out, but he tripped and hurt himself. The grunts heard, so he hid us and used himself as a distraction_ ,' I mumbled with closed eyes. Every word stung.

"You're joking," Hilton whispered.

Opening my eyes, I avoided his gaze by staring into the fire. ' _T-they took him back to the base, but before the grunts came back I evolved and tried to carry you away,'_ I whispered, unable to bear it any longer.

"Why didn't you go back to save him?" Hilton asked. "Why didn't you save him?" he asked again, voice raising. "He saved us! Twice!" Hilton shouted.

' _There was nothing I could've done,'_ I whispered, looking anywhere but at Hilton.

"You should've at least tried!" Hilton shouted, "You just left him for dead!"

Finally, I felt a spark of anger. I rounded on him, meeting his gaze with steel. ' _I did try,'_ I hissed. _'You weren't there.'_

"You should've tried harder!" Hilton shouted, slamming his fist against the armrest.

"The Reliance trash is conniving and resourceful," came Lawrence's smooth voice. "He told Noël shortly before his capture that they should meet back in Mahogany Town."

"What are we doing here, then?" Hilton asked, dropping his empty bowl on the coffee table and standing up. "We should be in Mahogany Town! Looking for Cenric! Telling the Police so they can go catch them!" Hilton demanded.

' _It's easy to say what someone should or shouldn't have done when you weren't there_ ,' I said, glaring at him. Now that I was Hilton size, he didn't seem quite so intimidating. Hilton's face twisted in anger, but before he could respond, Lawrence rose as well, placing a thin hand on his shoulder.

"I dropped you and Noël here because it was the closest and we thought you'd die otherwise. After that, I flew back to the Ice Path, but it had already been destroyed. I checked the surrounding area, including Mahogany Town, for signs of Reliance or Cenric, but found nothing," he said.

"We should still be out there looking," Hilton said, turning to stare out the fogged window into the rain.

Lawrence rolled his eyes, beginning to massage his temples. "Fine," he grumbled, "I will renew my search if only to escape your incessant whining," Lawrence said, releasing Hilton's shoulder and stepping past him towards the door.

"I'm coming too," Hilton said, following after him.

' _You can't let him go!'_ I exclaimed, jumping off my chair and running after them.

"He's not going," Lawrence said, yanking open the door and stepping out.

"What‽ Why?" Hilton snapped, chasing Lawrence into the rain.

"You will only slow me down," said Lawrence.

"What? You've flown with before during rain!" Hilton protested, raising his voice above the sound of the shower.

"At a fraction of my normal speed," Lawrence said. "If you truly want me to have the best chance of finding Cenric, stay here until I return," he said, transforming back into a pokémon.

"Lawrence!" Hilton begged, but he zoomed past us, arcing into the sky and disappearing into the clouds. "Lawrence!" Hilton shouted into the sky, but he was going. Kicking a stone, Hilton walked away from the cabin and further into the rain towards the vacant lake's shoreline.

Arceus, where did he think he was going? I had half a mind to let him hurt himself. Shows what he gets! Frowning I turned back towards the cabin. I paused in the doorframe. He probably would get himself hurt. He could pass out again. Reliance could find him and kidnap him. Swallowing my pride, I whipped around, chasing after his vanishing figure.

The rain was cold and made the leaves on the trees dance. I peered around them to see the top of Hilton's head vanishing into the muddy crater. Cursing, I ran after him as best as I could. I still hadn't figured out how to use this body.

I reached the edge of the crater and gasped, the lake was twice as big as it had been due to the rain, and it was still growing, absorbing the old shoreline and surrounding trees. I spotted Hilton crouching beneath a bush several yards from the lake, curling up into a ball.

"It's dangerous over there idiot," I mumbled, trying to make my way down the muddy slope to him. At least he was staying close and wasn't lost in the woods looking for Cenric. Reaching the group of trees Hilton had chosen, I leaned against the nearest trunk, glad the leaves kept some of the rain off. I knew Hilton heard my approach, but he didn't look up. He sat underneath a flower bush, and the long strands of maroon Love Lies Bleeding draped themselves over his shoulder, releasing their petals on top of him. I doubted if Hilton even noticed. He was too busy staring out at the lake, watching the rain collide with the silver surface in random patterns.

"Cenric saved our lives. Twice. Three times if you count the time during Battle Castelia. Oh, and four if you count last night. But we could never save his," Hilton said, staring straight forward. I didn't respond. How could I? It was the truth.

"You know what?" Hilton said, pulling himself up, "I think I'll go for a swim," he said, stepping towards the lake.

' _Hilton, don't_ ,' I warned, following him. He ignored me.

' _Hilton,'_ I cautioned again, grabbing for his arm, but he dodged, and waded into the lake. _'Oh, come on, Hilton! You're acting like a five year old!'_

He ignored me and waded further out into the lake. I stared at the water tentatively. Could I even swim in this body? I hadn't tried since I was a ralts. Arceus, that felt like ages ago. My lack of coordination, combined with large amounts of water could be lethal. Thankfully, Hilton decided to stay in the shallows at knee-deep depth. He waded around the edge of the lake, and I followed him from shore.

' _Hilton_!' I called, ' _Don't be an idiot! Come back! You're going to get hypothermia again.'_ Hilton paused, and a wave of relief passed over me that quickly turned to confusion when he didn't move towards shore.

' _Hilton?_ ' I called, but he put his hand up in sign for me to stop. He plunged his arms beneath the water, feeling around for something or other.

"Noël, come here!" he called, still keeping his hands submerged. "I think I found something."

Cringing, I stepped into the cold water and waded out to him. As I came up beside him, my foot slammed into something flat and hard.

' _What is that?'_ I asked, feeling around the object with my throbbing foot.

"It feels like a hatch," Hilton said excitedly over the rain.

' _A hatch?'_ I asked in confusion, finally sticking my hands beneath the water too. I felt around the top of the object. Indeed it was. I felt a round piece of metal at the top shaped like a steering wheel.

"Help me open it," Hilton said, grabbing part of the wheel and pulling.

' _Are you kidding? Hilton, whatever it is, it's underwater now_ ,' I said, gesturing to the lake around us.

"Come on Noël, it could be Reliance!" Hilton said, pulling so hard that his face turned red.

' _All the more reason to go back! You were literally unconscious a couple hours ago! Can't we wait until the water level goes back down at least?'_ I asked taking a step back towards shore. Before my reason could penetrate Hilton's thick skull, the wheel gave way, allowing him to pull up on the hatch. Water poured into the black hole like space itself had been ruptured.

"I knew it!" Hilton shouted, stepping into the hole and climbing down a ladder.

' _Hilton!'_ I shouted, grabbing after him. _'You're going to get us killed!'_ I stepped onto the first rung while gallons of cold lake water cascaded down on my head. It took all the strength in my body to cling to the ladder.

"Close the hatch!" Hilton shouted, his voice almost erased over the sound of the roaring torrent. I reached for the hatch and yanked downward, but the current was too strong! Water rushed into my mouth, stinging my eyes. I put my other hand on the handle and flung myself off the ladder, putting my entire weight on the hatch. The hatch banged shut with an echoing, deafening clang, and I lost my grip. I screamed as I fell, landing in two feet of water with a splash, head going under.

Hands wrapped around my arms, pulling me up. I broke the surface, coughing, trying to eject some of the water from my lungs. The closed hatch had stopped the lake water from pouring in, but now we were stuck in darkness.

A blue light flashed behind me, and I turned to see Hilton illuminated by the light of his cross-transceiver.

' _You're insane!'_ I shouted through my coughing fit. _'Did you even begin to think about how we're going to get out of here?'_ I shouted. Oh, I was going to strangle that boy.

"Noël, look!" Hilton said, spinning me around to see the wall he'd lit with his Holo Caster. The Reliance logo marred the metal wall, painted in an oily black.

' _That's great Hilton, but do you really think there's anything left here to find‽'_ I asked gesturing to the water we stood in. Paper and other various waterlogged objects floated around us. _'Soon this base is going to be flooded and destroyed, and we need to leave before that happens!'_ I insisted. Hopefully, there was another way out. My arms stung from the effort of closing the hatch, and I didn't think I could fight the lake again.

"Don't you understand Noël? They knew about the storm that would flood the base, so they didn't bother destroying anything beforehand. This could be our chance!" Hilton said, moving along down the hallway.

' _Hilton,'_ I said, grabbing him by the shoulder and spinning him around. ' _You need to stop ignoring me. We could_ **die** _down here. Die, Hilton! We can't save anyone if we're dead,'_ I said.

I watched his eyes passed over my face, trying to decide if he should contest the issue. Finally, with a sigh he relinquished.

"Alright, we can start looking for another way out, but if we find stuff on the way, I'm taking it," Hilton said and turned back around to head on.

"I liked you better unconscious," I growled, chasing after him.

The hall led to a short set of stairs, that opened up into a medium-sized room. I followed Hilton up the stairs, glad to trade two feet of water for several inches. Thank Arceus I had evolved when I did, or I would've drowned already.

In the middle of the room sat an overturned table, with chairs scattered around. On either side, the room branched off into a short hallway, covered with doors.

"You try that way, and I'll go this way," Hilton said, leaving my side.

' _Oh no no no no no, not when you have the only light,'_ I said, catching back up with him. Plus, there was still a small portion of my mind that worried he would pass out on me again.

Hilton reached the first door, hand hesitating over the knob. With a deep breath, he threw it open, revealing an empty room.

' _At least we know the electronic locks are out,'_ I said hopefully.

Hilton nodded, moving onto the next room. The next seven doors we tried yielded neither a way out nor any useful information on Reliance. We came across several labs, but all the equipment had been gutted and any papers they'd left behind had been useless notes too cryptic to understand.

Hilton reached for the second-to-last door, expecting to push it open just like the others. It didn't budge. We looked at each other with wide eyes. Hilton tried the door again, this time putting his shoulder into it.

Panting heavily, he withdrew. "Yeah, that's dead bolted. They didn't use the regular electric locks," he said, staring at the door. "Can you teleport us inside?" he asked me.

I laughed at that. ' _You really are insane. Walking into an operational Reliance base with targets on our backs would be safer than me trying to teleport us anywhere down here. I'd kill us for sure,'_ I said. For one, I had no idea how deep underground we were, and no idea where the water was. I could transport us thirty feet below the surface or worst of all, transport part of us into solid rock. I shuddered at the thought.

Hilton frowned, glaring at the door. "Well, if they put another lock on it, it must mean they have something extra to hide, right? Why don't we try to go find a key," Hilton suggested, bending low to scan the wet floor with the light of his cross-transceiver. He wasn't wrong…Maybe it was a way out!

' _Wait_ ,' I said, grabbing his arm. ' _I-I might have a way to get in.'_

"What? Really? Are you going to teleport?" he asked eagerly. I waved him off and closed my eyes.

' _Just let me concentrate,'_ I said, reaching back towards my power. I pulled it from the recesses of my mind towards the door. I felt the metal of the knob, and the thick bar of metal that kept the door lodged in place without a key. Taking a deep breath. I forced my powers through the keyhole, pulling at the first tumbler. It lifted, and I moved to the second, still keeping the first suspended. But as I tried to manipulate the second, my grip on the first slipped, breaking my concentration.

I cursed, opening my eyes to scowl at the lock.

"What?" Hilton whispered.

I shrugged him off. ' _Just give me a minute, okay?'_ I said, closing my eyes and going for my power a second time. I channeled it into the lock, pulling the first tumbler and then the next. Slowly but surely, and was able to move the tumblers into the right position. The locked clicked, and I grinned. I wasn't done though. Carefully, I rotated the internal mechanism sideways, pulling the deadbolt out of the wall. Thanks for the trick, Lawrence.

Opening my eyes, I took a step back, feeling exhausted, but victorious. _'Try it now,'_ I said, and Hilton nodded.

Carefully, he pulled the lever down and pushed the door open. We peeked inside the room.

It was empty.

Hilton groaned, stepping inside and holding his cross-transceiver high above his head to light the space. I gasped. The room may have been empty, but not lacking information.

Large gashes marred the walls along with scorch marks. I walked up to the metal plating, running my hand over the damaged surface.

' _This wasn't made by a human,'_ I murmured.

"But this was, come see!" Hilton called from the opposite side of the room. I walked over and he stepped aside to reveal a hole that'd went through the metal walls and into the bedrock. Water trickled from the rocks down the wall, splashing our feet. "Look," Hilton said, placing his fist inside the hole. It was a perfect fit.

' _That doesn't necessarily mean it was a human,'_ I said, taking a step backward.

"The height fits perfectly too!" Hilton insisted.

Let's just get out of here. Whatever they were up to, it wasn't good news, I mumbled, taking one last look at the marred walls. Hilton hummed in agreement, following out into the dark hallway.

He passed me, yanking at the next door and finding it the same way. He turned to me with a sheepish grin. "Do you think you can open this one too?"

Sighing, I walked up and placed my hand on the cold lock. Closing my eyes, I contracted on moving the tumblers via telekinesis again. The door clicked, and Hilton pushed it open.

"Oh, come on!" Hilton groaned, upon seeing yet another dark and empty room. This one didn't even have the attraction of claw marks. Sighing and spinning around in the doorway, Hilton headed back down the hallway. I rubbed my face with a groan, how were we going to get out of this place.

Something brushed my consciousness. I focused in on it. A weak, flickering psyche. I whipped around, scanning the dark room.

' _Hilton come back! I think there's someone in here!'_ I shouted, taking a tentative step inside. They felt too weak to hurt me, but it could be another of Reliance's tricks.

Hilton entered the room, bathing it in a soft blue glow. I tried to locate the weak presence between the dark shapes of overturned furniture.

"There!" Hilton called, splashing over to a dark blob in the corner.

' _Wait! Be careful it might be-!'_

"Arceus! It's a human!" Hilton cried, dropped to the ground and grabbing hold of the person by their upper arms. "Hey, hey? Can you hear me?" Hilton asked urgently.

She raised her head to look at us. I stopped dead.

"C-Claire?"


	24. Ready Player 5

**Chapter 24: Ready Player 5**

 **(***)**

"Arceus, is that you Claire," Hilton breathed, lifting his wrist to shine the light on her face. Claire shied away from the light, burying her face in her knees again.

"They're getting worse," she mumbled, the sound muffled by her legs.

"Arceus!" Hilton whispered throwing his arms around her. "I can't believe we finally found you," he said, voice hitching at the end as he started to cry. Pulling back, he started trying to pull her to her feet. "Claire, Claire, we've got to get out of here," Hilton whispered shaking her.

"Go away, Hilton. You aren't real," she said, voice raw.

Hilton turned to me, with anxiety spilled over his face. "Noël, help!" he begged.

I jolted back to life, running towards them. Thousands of emotions rushed through my head, filling my lungs and drowning me in their violent storm. Falling to my knees, I pulled Claire into a shuddering embrace, feeling hot tears slid down my face. ' _I was afraid—'_ I managed to tell her before words became impossible.

' _Arceus, Hilton she's freezing,'_ I managed, pressing the back of my hand to her face.

"We've got to get her out of here," he said, wiping his eyes. I snaked my arms under hers and around her torso, then groaned as I tried to lift her to her feet.

"Noël, she's chained to the wall!" Hilton called.

' _Help me,'_ I grunted, struggling to keep Claire upright when she stayed limp. Hilton threw her arm over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her side, managing to support her weight. Slowly, I released her and circled around to eye the chain.

"Can you break it?" Hilton called. The thick metal links snaked from a cuff on Claire's ankle to a plate on the wall. I tried to pick it up, but from the weight of the chain, I knew it was a lost cause.

' _There's no way!'_ I called back, still searching for a weakness in the chain. Panic filled churned my stomach as I followed the cold metal up to the wall. It was bolted to the concrete. What if we could save her? What if we had to find Lawrence, but by the time we came back the base was flooded‽ My fingers ran over the metal plate that bolted it to the wall. _'Maybe I could….'_ I mumbled.

A rush of water surged through the door, almost knocking Hilton off his feet. The water level was at seven inches now, and rising fast.

"Whatever you do Noël, do it fast!" Hilton shouted, trying to keep Claire from sliding out of his soaking arms.

I closed my eyes. Okay okay okay. This was just like the locks, right? Just like the locks. I focused on the thick screws holding the plate on the wall. I willed my power to surround the first one, slowly twisting it out.

"Noël!" Hilton shouted, and another surge of water caught me from behind, making me lose my hold on the screw.

' _I'm trying!'_ I shouted back, grabbing the bolt with my mind again. I felt a splash as it fell out. Okay, one down, seven more to go.

"I can see water coming in from the ceiling! This base is gonna come down on our heads."

' _Screw it!'_ I shouted and started clawing at the panel. The skin on my forearm went taught, and I felt bone slide past bone. With wide eyes, I watched as my elbow extended into long, thin blades.

"Noël!" Hilton shouted, inching as close to the door as he could while Claire was still chained.

I grabbed the chain in one hand and tried slicing it with my elbow blade. It glanced off without leaving a mark. Realizing it was a moot cause, I jumped to the wall and slashed at it, leaving deep gouges in the rock. Grabbing the chain with both hands, I put a foot on the wall and yanked back with all my strength. The plate broke loose from the rock, taking a chunk of concrete with it, and I fell back into the water.

Jumping back up, I stumbled over to Hilton pulling Claire out of his arms and into mine. With an enormous heave, I threw her over my shoulder. Hilton waded across the floor, bending down and lifting the metal plate off the ground along with the fragment of rock it was bolted to.

"Where are we going to go?" he called. The water was up to our knees now.

' _We don't have time to look for another exit!'_ I think we have to come back the way we came, I called.

"Can you swim with Claire?" he asked.

' _What choice do we have‽'_ I asked, shifting Claire weight.

Hilton nodded, and headed for the door, taking the lead while still carrying the metal plate. The ever rising water level made the trip back twice as difficult. Hilton passed the hallway and went back through the main room, and I trailed after him, trying to keep Claire from slipping off my shoulders. Water sprayed from leaks in the ceiling, getting worse by the minutes. Hilton paused for a moment to get his bearings before stepping towards the nearest hallway.

' _Hilton, watch out!'_ I shouted, but he vanished beneath the surface.

Seconds later he came up again, gasping for air and flailing his arms. He clung to the wall, allowing his feet to find purchase. He'd forgotten about the stairs. Hilton bent over, digging in the inky water for the metal plate he'd dropped. While he searched, I lowered myself into the deeper water, carefully feeling for each step. With every new current of water that pushed me back, I felt Claire start to slide off bit by bit.

' _I'm not losing you again,'_ I growled, clinging on to her. The water lapped at my neck, and I struggled to keep Claire's head above water.

Hilton reached the ladder, grabbing hold of the metal rungs and pulling himself up, the plate of metal still slung over his shoulder. I followed as best I could with only one available hand. My foot slipped on the rung, my stomach dropped as I fell backward. I felt Claire slip from my grasp. Before I could plunge into the icy water, a warm hand locked around my wrist, pulling me up to the next rung. Securing my grip around Claire again, I looked up at Hilton with grateful eyes.

Hilton paused below the hatch. Arceus knows how much water was going to be above it now.

"Are you ready?" he called down to me, wrapping his hands around the wheel.

' _Just do it!'_ I shouted, pressing myself as close to the wall as I could, and clinging to the ladder until my knuckles turned white.

Water rained down on Hilton as he began to turn the lever, filling the base with noxious grating sounds. Hilton braced his back and shoulders against the hatch and pushed up with his knees. I took a deep breath. Gallons of water surged inwards, almost throwing me off the ladder. I couldn't see anything in the white surge. Hoping Hilton had managed to make it out, I threw my hand up to the next wrung, pulling myself up as the water beat at my chest with the force of a train. I pulled myself up to the next wrung, and my arms burned at the effort. The water clawed at my mouth and eyes.

With a mighty groan, I made it to the final wrung. The water yanked at my fingers, pushing under them and trying to throw me off. I threw my torso up and out of the hatch, trying to fight the relentless current as it sucked me back inside. The current jerked at Claire's form, pulling her back to the abyss. My lungs started to burn for air and I couldn't see anything in the clouded, rushing water. A loud crack boomed even over the roar of the water, and the sandy lake bottom beneath me collapsed. Claire ripped out of my hands as I was propelled in another direction. I tried to grab her, but a spray of bubbles from bellow pushed me towards the surface, obscuring my vision with white. I broke the surface of the lake gasping. My lungs stung and my body ached. I spun around, hoping Claire had managed to surface on her own. She hadn't. With a deep breath, I dove beneath the surface, trying to see anything in the muddy water.

There! A dark shape. I swam towards it, fighting the water, but the shape disappeared. Out of air, I kicked off the bottom, jetting towards the surface for my next attempt. "Noël!" I heard Hilton scream above the rain and the sound of my own desperate gasps. I looked around trying to orient myself. There! Hilton was stumbling out of the shallows, dragging Claire with him. I swam after them and as my feet brushed the bottom of the lake relief surged through me.

I waded the rest of the way, and stumbled onto shore, falling to my knees next to Hilton and Claire. Claire coughed violently, trying to remove all the water that had gotten into her lungs. With shaking arms, she fell onto the sand.

' _Claire!'_ I shouted, weakly crawling over to her. Hilton panted to her left, broken by series of coughs.

I rolled Claire onto her back, trying to wipe the sand off her face, but only making it worse. She watched me through labored breaths. "This is real, isn't it" she managed, voice rough and punctuating her statement with a cough.

I nodded, glancing over at Hilton.

' _W-we've got to get back to the cabin,'_ I managed, looking around and trying to figure where we'd come out of the lake. Hilton pointed past me, at the lip of the crater.

"It's just a little past there," he said. "I remember those trees."

Nodding, I struggled to my knees and wrapped my arms beneath Claire. They screamed in pain, quivering at her weight as I rose to my feet.

Hilton pushed himself upwards likewise, almost falling, but catching himself. He scooped down and picked up the concrete block attached to Claire's leg, cradling it in his arms.

We looked at each other and nodded. I took my first step up the muddy incline, instantly sliding back down.

"Come on, Noël, you can do it," Hilton managed, clawing his way past me.

' _How 'bout you carry Claire, and I carry the brick,'_ I suggested, pulling my foot out of the mud. My bones ached, and I felt like every step would be my last. Just a little farther. Just a little farther I chanted to myself. If Hilton could do it, so could I. I saw him glancing back in my direction several times, and wondered if was having similar thoughts. Hilton reached the lip of the crater first, pulling himself over, and I followed shortly after. The sight of the cabin nestled within the trees made me want to cry.

"Just a little bit more Noël," he said, barely above a whisper. His hoodie weighed down on him, collecting water and mud like a sponge. I wonder how many extra pounds he was carrying just because of it. We reached the door, and I collapsed against the side of the cabin as Hilton fiddled with the knob. I let the rain wash my sweat and mud-coated face. Hilton pushed open the door with one hand, holding it for me.

"Take her to the bath. We need to warm her up," he said, still trying to catch his breath. I nodded, too exhausted for anything more. Hilton trailed behind, still holding the concrete, and slipped in front to open the bathroom door. I placed Claire, clothes and all, in the tub as gently as I could, and Hilton turned on the warm water. He set the concrete block on the bathmat, arranging the chain so it wasn't pulling at her leg. He then reached up, pulling the shower head off and handing it to me.

"When you're ready to use this, pull the rod on the faucet," he instructed, "I'm going to put on more soup," Hilton said, staggering out of the bathroom and leaving a muddy trail behind him. The door swung closed, and I turned my attention onto Claire. She sat unmoving in the puddle of dirty water, staring blankly at the drain.

I fiddled with the chain, making doubly sure it wasn't still pulling on her ankle.

' _I'm sure Lawrence can help us get that off when he comes back,'_ I said, turning on the shower head and letting it wash some of the mud off her legs. ' _You haven't met him I don't think, but he's a Latios we met from the first base,'_ I said, ignoring the sharp, growing pain in my sinuses.

With pale fingers, Claire began working at the laces of her mud-caked sneakers.

' _He's kind of scary, but he is on our side most of the time,'_ I continued, trying smile past my quaking jaw. _'You should've seen the way he took down those Reliance grunts at Castelia,'_ I said, hot tears dripping onto her shoulders. Claire paused, not looking up.

"I thought I was going to die," she murmured.

' _Me too_ ,' I said with a laugh, trying to wipe the tears off my face, but only smearing the mud.

"I thought I was going to die," she repeated at a whisper, barely loud enough to hear. Her hand sank onto the knees, and her shoulders started to shake.

I dropped the showerhead, wrapping my arms around her and burying my face in her shoulder like I used to.

"It was so dark, and the water—" she choked on her own tears before she could continue.

' _I-I missed you so much. I was almost starting to think…'_ I couldn't finish the statement. A loud sob rose above the sound of the shower, but I couldn't tell who it was from. Claire looked up. Her hair stuck out in brown chunks, and tears cascaded down her face mixing with the mud. She grabbed the sides of my face with trembling hands, twisting it so she could examine me.

"Is that really you, Noël?" she asked through snivels.

I nodded, with a tearful smile. ' _Yeah, we've got a lot to talk about.'_

The rest of the shower passed in silence. The weight of what needed to be said was too great to try. I held the shower head for her as she ran her hands through her hair, trying to get the mud and grime out.

Slowly, the running water pulled a portion of the dirt out of her hoodie, revealing a dull, rust-color and the edges of a hard, black logo emblazoned on the back. A hard knot formed in my stomach. I glanced down to her soaking wet attire, still stained by the mud. Underneath the rips and dirt, I could still her pants had once been grey cargo pants.

"Can you go find me some dry clothes?" she asked, voice hoarse and unfamiliar. I looked back up at her with reluctance.

' _I don't want to be separated from you again,'_ I confessed avoiding her gaze.

"I-I'm getting better, Noël," she said, wiping her eyes and bracing her back against the wall of the shower. "I won't move until you get back," she mumbled, closing her eyes out of sheer exhaustion.

Tearing myself away, I exited the bathroom, scanning the main room for Hilton. He stood over the stove, staring down blankly into the pot of soup.

Hilton, I called softly, causing him to jump in response. He spun around, trying to force a smile. His eyes were red and puffy, but I decided not to comment on them.

' _You're clean,'_ I stated with surprise, eyes flicking to his damp green hair.

"I thought it'd be hard to cook with mud everywhere, so I used the kitchen sink," he explained. I looked over and saw his wet clothes hung over the sink's edge. He currently donned an oversized polo and a pair of khaki shorts that obviously didn't belong to him.

' _Claire needs clean clothes,'_ I stated, looking around for clues on where he might've procured them.

Hilton stepped past me, leading me into the bedroom.

"They're all guy clothes, but I don't think she'll mind too much," Hilton said absently, pulling open drawers and picking through the various shirts. Finally, he picked out a large T-shirt and pairs of khakis, hunting down a belt to accompany it.

"Thanks," I mumbled, taking the stack of clothes from him and careful not to get my mud on them. Pushing open the bathroom door, I found Claire perched on top of the toilet seat, wrapped in a towel and examining her chained ankle.

She looked up at the sound of the door, sliding off the toilet to take the stack from me.

' _Hilton said this was all we had,'_ I said, and her mouth twisted down at the mention of his name.

"This is fine," she murmured, examining the articles. "Do you want me to help wash you off?" she asked, bringing her eyes up to meet mine.

' _That'd be wonderful,'_ I confessed, hoping back over to the shower and turning the shower back on. Claire changed while I adjusted the temperature of the water.

Turning back to her I began to comment on the shower but was struck silent instead. The clothes hung off her, making her look dangerously thin. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and a variety of bruises and scrapes marred her skin, but she looked like Claire again. I almost broke into tears.

' _I can't believe we finally found you,'_ I whispered, feeling the tears build again.

"Neither can I," she admitted, barely audible.

Reaching for the showerhead, she began the process of cleaning to mud off my white skin.

' _We used to do this all the time,'_ I said with a sad smile.

"You could fit in the sink then," Claire said, spraying the last bit off my shoulders before working up the back of my neck. The crack in my skull began to spark.

' _Oh, no! Wait!-!'_ I tried to warn her. She inhaled sharply and dropped the showerhead, causing it to dangle and spray water into the air. Crying out from the initial shock, I bent down to grab it, only getting soaked further in the process. Claire reached past me, flipping the water off.

I looked up at her with an exhausted grin, water dripping off my face. ' _That was easier, wasn't it?'_

Claire didn't smile back. "Who did that to you?" she asked, voice low and serious. For the first time since we'd been reunited, she sounded angry.

' _Did what?'_ I asked, trying to buy time for me to think of an excuse that wouldn't make her even more upset.

Less than a minute later, Claire threw open the bathroom door, storming into the kitchen and dragging the concrete block behind her. I padded after her as quickly as my fatigued legs could carry me.

"Hilton!" she shouted, stalking into the kitchen and causing the boy to jump, sending the soup spoon in hand flying.

"Claire!" Hilton said with relief, "I'm so glad you're ok—"

She cut him off, stopping inches from him. "You _dropped_ Noël down the stairs?" she asked, voice low and eyes narrowed.

' _It's really okay!'_ I chimed, trying to step between the two. ' _I'm kinda over it!'_

Hilton opened his mouth, but she charged on before he could get a word in. "You caused my pokémon permanent brain damage?" she hissed, and her face started to grow red. Oh dear. While it was a relief to see her emerge from that mask of numbness, I didn't envy Hilton.

' _Again! I'm okay!'_ I said, trying to pull her away, but she wouldn't budge.

"You're unbelievable if I-!" but in the middle of her sentence, Claire stumbled backward, almost collapsing to the floor. Sensing her trajectory with my chest, I slipped around behind her, managing to catch her in my arms.

' _Help me get her to the couch_ ,' I groaned, barely able to support her upper body in my weakened state. With Hilton's help, we managed to drag Claire to the couch.

I began to cover her in blankets while Hilton retreated to check on his soup. Groaning, she rubbed her eyes.

"My head hurts," she mumbled.

' _I'd imagine so,'_ I said, pulling the last of the blankets up and around her torso. I think we've had enough excitement for today. _'Promise not to fight with Hilton, okay?'_ I asked.

Claire glowered, averting her gaze. I could see her tumultuous emotions swirling under a fog of exhaustion, all tangled up in knots that showed in her knitted brows and downturned lips.

"I'd given up, Noël," she mumbled, staring past me and into the fire. "They left me there for dead. I fought at that chain for hours, but then the water started rising and I—" she broke off, picking at her fingers.

' _I may look different, but I'm still the same Noël, you know?'_ I said. ' _You don't have to keep things from me.'_

Claire sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. "I'm just tired, Noël," she mumbled.

' _Claire, I know you're lying…'_

"I don't want to talk about it," she said looking anywhere but at me. "Not yet," she added quietly.

' _Why are you angry Claire?'_ I pushed. Knowing Claire, "not yet" could mean "not ever".

She scowled at me. "When did you get to be so stubborn?" she asked.

' _They say pokémon mimic their trainers,'_ I said with a smile grin.

"I'm angry at a lot of things Noël, isn't that enough for you?" she asked, reclining back and watching me with tired eyes, but beneath them was something hard that wasn't there before.

I shook my head. ' _Keep going.'_

She rolled her eyes, and frown deepening. "I'm angry at Reliance at kidnapping me," she began, "I'm angry at the League for not saving me. I'm angry at myself for thinking I could handle it alone. I'm angry at myself because I practically handed a bunch of terrorists a god on a silver platter. I'm angry because it's partially my fault you got hurt, Noël! And of all people, Hilton had to be the one to save me!" she growled, her face twisted like she'd eaten something sour whenever Hilton's name passed her lips.

' _He's different, you know. He's changed,'_ I said quietly.

Claire laughed at that, a hoarse, uncomfortable sound. "Yeah, I thought that too Noël. I thought that lots of times, but then he gave me this."

I didn't have to look to see what she was referring to. I already knew. But I looked anyway. Claire gestured to her left leg, exposed by the khaki pants and glowing orange in the firelight. A long, jagged purple scar snaked up from her ankle, cut across her shin, and wrapped around the right side of her kneecap before ending. It's been a brutal injury with a taxing healing process. It'd put her training back months, and to Claire, that was the worst of all.

"How can you stand to be in the same room with him when he did this to me, and that—" she pointed to crack in my skull "-to you," she asked, eyes narrowed. Her question and the venom it contained struck me. How _could_ I tolerate Hilton after all he'd done? I used to hate him as much as Claire did, maybe even more.

I shrugged. _'I don't know,'_ I said honestly. _'I guess just seeing how hard he tries day after day…'_ I trailed off. It was such a difficult thing to put into words. Claire looked away with a dissatisfied expression.

' _Hey, want to see a trick I learned?'_ I asked, trying to lighten the mood. I did not spend weeks trying to find this human just to get into an argument.

"Trick?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. I felt a twinge of satisfaction as her frustration faded into curiosity.

With an eager nod, I slipped off the couch and onto my knees, clasping my palms over her as if in prayer. Closing my eyes, I focused my psychic energy into my palms, feeling them begin to grow hot. Opening my eyes, I looked past the pink energy ball I held to Claire's face. She gaped at it, and her awe was tangible. Grinning, I pulled the sphere apart, causing it to shatter into thousands of tiny sparkles that rained down on her. She reached for them, letting them collect in her hand just for them to disappear like snowflakes. The light faded as the last sparkle vanished, but she continued examining her hand as if a fragment of light could still be stuck within the ridge of her palm.

' _It's a new move I learned last night called—'_

"Heal Pulse" she breathed, looking up at me in wonder.

' _I nodded. Yeah, I know it doesn't work on humans, but I thought it couldn't hurt,_ ' I explained.

"What else do you know?" she asked eagerly, her tired eyes finally lighting up even amidst the dark circles.

I leaned back, and my face scrunched as I tried to remember. ' _Ummm, Heal Pulse, Confusion, Magical Leaf, andddd Teleport!'_ I finished.

"T-teleport" Claire stuttered, looking at me with wide eyes. "That means you could take us to the nearest town!" she said excitedly.

I frowned at the, lowering my head and running my fingers through the rug beneath me. ' _Well… I kinda haven't quite perfected it yet. My head—'_ the front door banged open, cutting my confession short.

' _Lawrence!'_ I cried. With considerable effort, I pulled myself up to greet him.

His maroon eyes flicked over my body. "You look wretched! What ha—" his eyes landed on Claire, silencing him. Claire, pushed herself upright, allowing her to study Lawrence in kind. Lawrence looked back at me, keeping his face and body mostly immobile. "It seems we have much to discuss."

"Noël, who's this kid?" Claire asked, eyeing Lawrence with a skepticism he easily matched.

"Lawrence!" shouted Hilton, retreating from the kitchen with a pot of soup in his hands. "Did you find anything?" he asked eagerly. "Did you see Cenric?"

Lawrence slipped a backpack off his back, tossing it at Hilton's feet.

"Oh! My pack! I thought Reliance had taken! Hold on, let me put this down," Hilton said, walking back towards the kitchen.

"Lawrence…" Claire repeated the name, looking from him to me, trying to figure out if this was a joke. "You said he was—"

"A latios," Lawrence interjected, glaring at me. "But that was my secret to tell, was it not?" he asked.

I sighed, _'Claire, this is Lawrence, the pokémon I was telling you about. And Lawrence, this is Claire, the human Hilton and I have been trying to save.'_

Lawrence examined Claire with renewed interest. "Is she? Well, it seems like you and Hilton managed to worm your way into trouble despite my best efforts."

Hilton came back, holding two of soup, presenting one to Claire and one to me. "Hold on Lawrence, I can get you one. I'll make sure to put extra mustard in it" Hilton said, cracking a grin.

Lawrence practically hissed at him, storming out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"Mustard?" Claire mumbled in confusion, but I just laughed. Hilton grabbed his dripping backpack off the floor, gently emptying the contents on the ground. Rummaging through the pile, he grabbed his glasses, sliding them back on his face.

"Look Noël! They're not broken!" he exclaimed, going back to digging. I gave him a thumbs up, too busy inhaling my soup to speak.

"Hey, and my mask too," he said, tilting the mask in his hands, inspecting it for cracks.

"Why is there a spoon on the floor?" Lawrence called from the kitchen.

"Oh, I think that's the one Hilton dropped earlier," I managed through a mouthful of food.

"Fantastic," came his less-than-glowing reply.

Lawrence returned carrying a mustard-free bowl of soup. He sat himself down in one of the armchairs, and Claire pulled up her legs so I could join her on the couch. Hilton came back and set his own bowl on the coffee table. He picked up one of the remotes and powered on the television. The green-haired human flipped through channels, flashing the room in multicolored light. He paused on a particularly dramatic soap opera when a box flashed up in the corner, advertising that the next movie was Invaders from Another World. Claire stiffened at that but didn't speak up.

Noting her movement, Hilton muted the TV and set the remote down. "Mind if we stay on the channel until the next movie?" he asked. Lawrence didn't respond, refusing to make eye contact with Hilton. Arceus, was he still upset about the mustard thing?

' _I don't care. Whatever is good for me,'_ I said. _'How about you, Claire?'_ I prompted.

She looked down into her soup. "Yeah, this is fine," she mumbled.

"So how did you locate our newest guest?" Lawrence asked me, purposely ignoring Hilton.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. _'It's kind of a long story. Why don't you go first,'_ I suggested. _'You went back to the Ice Path, found Hilton's bag, and what else?'_

Lawrence frowned, staring out the window at the rain. "Mahogany Town isn't safe."

"What do you mean Mahogany Town isn't safe?" Hilton asked, swallowing a mouthful of soup and setting his bowl down on the coffee table. "We were there yesterday!"

Lawrence nodded grimly. "I believe it has a high concentration of Reliance grunts, and I can't speak for the surrounding cities' virtue either."

"What? We spent the night and we didn't see any Reliance grunts until we were out on Route 44," Hilton said, green brows vanishing behind the rims of his glasses in puzzlement.

Lawrence rolled his eyes, letting out an over exaggerated sigh to let Hilton know just how stupid he found him. "Reliance, although comprised of many brainless terrorists, is not an entirely unintelligent organization. You cannot evade the League for so long without possessing some sort of intelligence. They are not always in uniform, Hilton, and that's what makes them dangerous," he warned.

The mention of the Reliance uniform made my soup sour in my mouth. I swallowed forcefully, thinking of the dirty orange hoodie lying on the bathroom floor now. I couldn't let Lawrence see that. Not without giving Claire a chance to defend herself. Surely it was all a misunderstanding.

"You're saying they have fingers in a lot of pies?" Hilton asked, cocking his head.

Lawrence nodded, rolling his eyes at the saying.

' _So you're saying not even the hospitals are safe?'_ I murmured, closing the telepathic channel, so only use two could hear.

Lawrence's eyes flashed up to meet mine. ' _That is correct. At least not in this region.'_ Turning his attention back to Claire, he observed her. "What can your friend tell us? If I remember correctly, the running theory was that she joined those Reliance vermin, though it seems that did not work out in your favor," he said, taking a pointed glance at the chain still attached to her leg.

Claire opened her mouth to respond, but I cut in before she could. ' _Seeing how we've all had a very taxing day, and we've established there isn't anywhere safe we can go, why don't we just put this conversation off until a little later?'_ I turned to Claire. _'How about I move you to the bedroom so you can get some sleep?'_ I suggested, eager to get her away from Lawrence's penetrating gaze.

She nodded wearily. "That sounds good." I helped peel back the blankets and pulled her to her feet. She stumbled, but I caught her before she could fall to the floor. I glared at the chain still attached to her leg.

' _Lawrence, we were waiting for you to help get that thing off,'_ I said, staring at it with distaste.

He reclined back with an arrogant head tilt, crossing his arms. "Oh, Noël," he said, a narrow smile slicing his face, "You should know by now I don't help Reliance parasites," he said, looking to Claire. He was still smiling, but his eyes were hard.

"I'm not a Reliance sympathizer!" Claire shouted, the exertion causing her to sway. I tightened my grip, scowling at Lawrence from around her brown mop of hair. Inside I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at her admission. How could I have ever suspected her?

"Oh really? So I suppose you wore their uniform as a fashion choice," he said, not even attempting to keep the venom out of his voice. Oh, so he had seen that…

"Lawrence, they left her chained in a flooding, abandoned base to die," Hilton said quietly, finally looking up from his soup. "We can talk about all of this later, but she can barely stand right now," he said, avoiding Claire's gaze.

Lawrence rolled his eyes in scorn before closing them to concentrate. The metal cuff that kept Claire's leg shackled to the chain began to warp. Claire closed her eyes, clenching her fists until they went white.

' _Lawrence, you're hurting her!'_ I shouted, but the metal cuff clacked to the floor. I gasped. Now we could see the full extent of her injuries. Large, splotchy bruises painted her ankle dark purple. A bright red ring had been cut into her skin from her multiple attempts to drag her foot out before we'd found her.

' _Are there any bandages in the house?'_ I asked Hilton, feeling the panic starting to bubble up inside of me. Why hadn't she told anyone? We would've made Lawrence taken it off the moment he walked in!

Hilton staggered upwards, gaping at Claire's leg. "I-I don't know! I'll go check the medicine cabinet" he said, rushing off as fast as he could to the bathroom.

Seconds later he came out, dumping his supplies by the kitchen sink and beckoning us over. I reached down to pick Claire up again, but she pushed my arm away.

"I can do this," she mumbled, tentatively putting her foot down and cringing at the weight. She held her head up, taking a step forward, but as she transferred her weight onto her injured foot, her leg buckled. I swooped in, catching her again.

' _Either you let me help, or I'll carry you,'_ I threatened, looking her in the eye. Sighing, she swung her arm over my shoulder, leaning her weight on me. Before we could proceed, Lawrence stepped in our way, locking eyes with Claire.

"Just remember, if you try to escape. I will hunt you down. You are our prisoner," he said, voice low and menacing. Even in her exhausted state, Claire didn't shy away from his glare.

' _Come on, Lawrence, you really think she's going to try to escape with a foot that looks like that‽,'_ I asked. Even a blind man could tell she was a couple minutes away from collapsing from exhaustion.

"Like a roach," he said softly, enunciating every syllable, "Reliance trash fights long after the battle is lost."

Growling, I shoved past him, and together we made it to the kitchen sink. Claire managed to hoist herself up onto the counter with just her arms. Swinging her leg into the sink, she flipped on the faucet while Hilton and I watched helplessly.

Claire held her ankle under the water, unable to suppress the hitch in her breathing as it touched the wound.

"Do you need soap?" Hilton asked with wide eyes, reaching for the dish soap nearby.

Claire held up her hand, stopping him in a single motion, but refusing to look in his direction. Pulling her ankle out, she dried it with a paper towel.

"Bandages," she mumbled, not looking up from her task. Hilton picked two boxes out of the stack, handing them to me. I presented them to Claire, and she took them without a word. Popping them open, she wrapped a pad around the wound before securing it in place with gauze.

I helped her off the counter and towards the bedroom. She collapsed onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

' _Do you need anything?'_ I asked, wringing my hands as she watched the ceiling fan spin.

"Water," she mumbled, eyes trailing the revolving blades.

I made my way back to the kitchen, pouring water into a mug before making my way back to the bedroom. I paused in the doorway. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was rising and falling in a slow but steady rhythm.

I crept past her as quietly as I could, setting the mug of water on the nightstand. With one last look to assure myself that this was all real, I left the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind me.

The rest of the day passed in a haze. Claire slept in the bed, while Hilton and I tried to alternate our naps in case she woke up and needed something. Sometimes when I woke Lawrence was there, but mostly he stayed out, continuing his search for Reliance and Cenric.

I practiced Heal Pulse on Drifloon, managing to revive her to Hilton's delight. The ghost-type took to hovering around the room aimlessly, sometimes hanging in one place, suspended.

The grey fog outside grew darker as the numbers on the clock grew bigger. The TV played on the lowest volume as something to fill the space whenever Hilton or I sat alone in the living room while the others slept. Rain still hammered on the roof like white noise, almost constant enough to escape notice. Almost.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** R&R please!

 **Fun Fact** : Although Claire is two years older than Hilton, she's shorter than him by an inch at 5'5.


	25. Battle Plans

**Chapter 25: Battle Plans**

 **(***)**

Claire slept solidly through the night, and only regained consciousness sometime mid-morning of the day after.

I heard movement in the bedroom and scrambled off the couch and towards it as fast as I could. After opening the door with more force than intended—I was still getting used to this new body—I stepped inside the bedroom.

Claire yawned, raising her head.

"Noël?" she croaked, blinking sleepily.

' _How do you feel?'_ I asked rushing to her side.

"Awful," she admitted.

' _What can I get you?'_ I asked, taking a half-step towards the door.

"Food and water," she said with a groan, stretching her arms. I nodded, grabbing her empty mug and dashing back out to the kitchen and passing Drifloon on my way.

Hilton, who currently sat at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal, looked up in surprise.

' _Claire's up!'_ I said, opening various cabinets in search of a cup. ' _How are you feeling this morning, Hilton?'_ I asked with a yawn.

"I've got a few scrapes from the cave still, and I swear I can still taste that gross lake water," he said, with a quiet laugh. "Mostly tired and sore. How about you? I know you said you were down on psychic energy or whatever after the whole Ice Path thing, _and then_ the whole lake thing happened," he said, taking another spoonful of cereal.

I shrugged, filling Claire's cup with water from the faucet. _'About the same, I guess.'_

"How is she—" Hilton cut his sentence short. I turned around in curiosity, only to be confronted with the reason. Claire stood in the doorway, surveying the scene.

' _Claire, you should still be in bed!'_ I cried, nearly dropping the ceramic mug.

She ignored my protest by taking unsteady steps towards the kitchen table, selecting the chair furthest from Hilton. He averted his eyes back to the cereal bowl. He'd noticed.

I felt a presence lurking outside of the kitchen. Directing my attention in its direction, I said _, 'Lawrence, why don't you join us?'_ projecting it into everyone's heads, so they all could hear.

"You've become cockier since your evolution," he commented dryly, sidling into the room and taking a chair between Claire and Hilton.

' _Growing three feet taller can do that,'_ I replied, handing the mug of water to Claire.

"When did you get back, Lawrence?" Hilton asked, trying to change the tone of the conversation. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Recently," was all he said. "We need to discuss our future plans," he said, making eye contact with Claire.

' _Woah woah woah! You may be ready to go, but the three if us are still exhausted! We need time to heal!'_ I protested, taking the final seat at the table. Arceus, it was good not to have to crawl up onto chair anymore.

"Every moment we delay is another moment Reliance could be kidnapping and experimenting on humans and pokémon," Lawrence said, raising his voice in frustration.

"I agree," said a quiet voice from across the table. That it came from Claire surprised both me and Lawrence. She looked up at us. "I don't know what Reliance is planning with Dialga, but it's going to be big, and it's going to be soon," she said grimly.

' _Claire, you can't be serious! You want to take on Reliance now? We just got you away from those maniacs!'_ I cried, throwing my hands into the air in disbelief.

"They still have the rest of our team, remember Noël?" she asked quietly, and my stomach twisted as their visages flashed through my brain. Of course I wanted to save them too, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack, except the haystack tried to eat you every time you got near it. We were more likely to get recaptured or even die in the process than actually succeed. "And with Dialga's power," Claire continued, "who knows what they can do…"

' _Dialga can control time itself! Why can't he just help himself out? He's a_ **god** _for Arceus's sake!'_ I said.

"Years ago Team Galactic proved controlling him was possible," Lawrence said.

"And they took the pieces of the red chain I had," Claire mumbled.

' _So what if they can keep him from escaping. They can't force him to do anything!'_ I said. This was lunacy.

"Team Flare figured out how," Hilton mumbled, finally speaking. All eyes turned to him. "It's true," he said with a shrug. "They learned how to contain and use Yveltal and Xernea's power," he said.

' _All their equipment was destroyed years ago,'_ I said, though by now I was only trying to convince myself that it couldn't be true.

"Remember when we found the admins?" Hilton said, "If they have Colress working for them, they'll probably figure it out soon enough. Besides, they might have some of the Flare scientists too."

I swallowed hard this wasn't good. Claire lifted her head in curiosity, still unable to look at Hilton. "You fought the admins?" she asked. "Who were they? What did they look like?"

Lawrence gave a cold laugh. "You should know."

Claire turned on him. "After I was captured, I knew they'd never release me, so instead of sitting around and waiting to be experimented on, I played the good soldier," she hissed. "I did whatever they asked me to because I thought I could learn some information that would help the League take them down. You see where that got me," she growled.

I felt my chest constrict at that. Okay, so she had joined Reliance, but it was as a spy. Still, how could she…? What did they make her do? Nameless fears swirled around in the pit of my stomach as I tried to swallow this new information.

Lawrence's only response to Claire's speech was an icy glare.

"So we did see you in Castelia. That wasn't a hallucination," Hilton murmured.

"You guys were in Castelia during the big fight?" she asked, looking at me with surprise.

I nodded. _'It's where we—Cenric, Hilton, and I—found the admin meeting. We fought with Saturn, and he beat us pretty bad,'_ I admitted, playing with my hands.

"But Noël evolved into a kirlia there!" Hilton chimed in.

' _And Hilton helped us escape from Cyan's goons,'_ I added.

"Cyan?" Claire asked, going stiff.

"A friend of yours?" Lawrence sneered.

"She's the one who captured us originally," Claire said, frowning and gestured to Hilton and I. "I haven't really seen her since then. She's the leader of Reliance."

Hilton and I frowned at that.

' _Are you sure about that?_ ' I asked. _'I'm almost positive she takes orders from someone else,'_ I said.

Claire sighed. "It's possible. Shows how much they told me," she said bitterly.

"Surely, you must have some information," Lawrence pressed. "What were they doing in Castelia? In the Ice Path?"

"Same thing they always do. Kidnap people and experiment on them," she said, clenching her fist and looking away.

"But why? For what purpose?" Lawrence asked, leaning in.

Claire slammed her fist on the table, rattling the spoon in Hilton's bowl. "I told you, they wouldn't tell me! It was all 'lift that crate' or 'keep watch' or 'attack anyone who isn't wearing orange'. When they finally started to give me jobs involving the experiments, they asked me to hold someone down while they worked on him. I couldn't do it, they found out I was faking, and the rest is history," she said, laying her head on the table. I swallowed hard. That story sounded familiar.

"The guy who they asked you to experiment on…he didn't happen to have black hair and purple eyes, did he?" Hilton asked softly.

Claire looked up for a moment, locking eyes with him before quickly averting her gaze. "No. Why?"

Hilton sighed, running a hand through his hair. "At Castelia, Reliance recaptured a friend of ours. We—Noël saw him last night, but we couldn't save him then either…" he said trailing off.

"Cenric," she concluded, and Hilton nodded.

"He told us to meet him in Mahogany Town, but Lawrence can't find any trace of Reliance or Cenric," Hilton said bitterly. "And if Lawrence is right, and Mahogany Town is secretly run by Reliance agents…" he trailed off.

"We should at least try," Claire said, looking to me and Lawrence for confirmation.

Lawrence nodded, cracking one of his wicked grins. "Any opportunity to damage Reliance is fine by me."

' _You're all insane!'_ I said, rubbing my temples _. 'Claire, you need to let that leg heal, and Hilton, you promised me you'd go to the hospital if the mutation got too bad.'_

Claire frowned and Hilton groaned. "I thought you were off that! I told you it was a one time thing. I was just cold and hungry, that's all," he protested. "Besides, Heal Pulse worked on me, remember?"

' _After the third try,'_ I cried. ' _Hilton, if we get into a fight and you pass out again, I won't be able to spend that much energy and time trying to heal you. Besides, what if it gets worse?'_ I said, trying to get reason inside this thick skull.

"It does sound like it would be for the best," Claire said softly, staring past Hilton at the wall behind.

Hilton brows crashed down onto his eyes, lips raising in a snarl that crinkled his nose. "I'm going to fight Reliance, and I am going to save Cenric, and if I don't go with you, I'll go by myself," he said, clenching his fists in frustration. I could feel how our comments had wounded him.

"The boy has a right to make his own decisions, and I will not force him to go to the hospital against his wishes," Lawrence said casually, relaxing back in his chair.

I glared in his direction. Of course Lawrence would care more about Reliance than Hilton's personal safety. ' _Fine, let's say we storm Mahogany Town and save Cenric, what then? Find their headquarters and attack it with our five-man army?'_ I asked. ' _It's ludicrous!'_

"Do you know where their headquarters is?" Lawrence asked Claire, eyes lighting up. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Of course that's what he wanted to do.

Claire sighed, massaging her temples. "I just don't know. They said a lot about Hoenn, but I'm not sure if that's because that's where they're headquartered, or if they're shutting down bases there just like they are here in Johto."

' _Oh, yeah! Let's just pop by Mahogany Town, beat up some Reliance grunts, then take a quick swim over to Hoenn to take down their headquarters. We'll be finished by lunch for sure!'_ I said with a forced laugh.

"In really isolated towns like Mahogany Town, Pokémon Centers sometimes lend out flying pokémon because the terrain is so rough," Claire said, tapping her fingers on the table as she began to formulate a plan. "We wouldn't have to swim…"

"When should we leave?" Hilton asked

"How about immediately?" Lawrence suggested with a too-eager smile,

' _How about never?'_ I retorted, glaring at him. _'Stop encouraging them, Lawrence! They're going to get themselves killed.'_

"You are not obligated to come with us, Noël," Lawrence said, maintaining his casual air, but the smile left his eyes. His stared at me, but I broke his gaze and looked to Claire.

"Noël," Claire said softly, looking up from the table, "I won't make you stay if you don't want to. I'm sure I can figure out a way to send you back to my parents' house…"

I scoffed at that. _'I just found you and you think you're going to get rid of me that easily?'_

Claire smiled one of her first genuine smiles and relief flickered across her face. Had she actually thought I'd abandoned her? Well, I guess if she'd made that offer to me two weeks ago, I would've taken it, but now…now I was in too deep to turn back. For better or for worse.

"We never came to a decision," Hilton said, "when do we leave?"

"How about an hour from now?" Claire suggested, looking to Lawrence for confirmation.

' _How about two days from now,'_ I grumbled. _'Claire, you still have trouble walking, and it's still raining outside.'_

"Actually," Lawrence cut in, "it ceased shortly before I returned." Before I could growl at Lawrence for his tireless efforts to oppose me, Hilton jumped in again.

"How about we compromise and say three hours from now," he said, looking around at us hopefully.

Lawrence sighed, "I suppose it will have to do, but be warned, since we are at the Lake of Rage, the journey to Mahogany Town will be long and arduous."

' _And you're the only one strong enough to make the trip right now,'_ I said. _'See, this is why I said wait a couple days.'_

Hilton rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I know you can't carry us together, but could you fly us there one by one?" he asked, pushing his slipping glasses back up his deformed nose.

Lawrence scowled at him in response. "I am a powerful psychic legendary, not a taxi service as you seem to believe."

"Come on, Lawrence," Hilton begged, "You said yourself it'd take us a couple days. Do you really want to wait that long?"

Lawrence contemplated his proposal, crossing his arms and tapping a finger against his upper arm. "Fine," he said at last, and I saw Hilton visibly relax in the corner of my eye. "But know this," Lawrence continued, assuming a more serious tone. "I will not be reduced to your transportation. I will do so solely because it benefits me also, understand?"

Hilton and I nodded obediently, but Claire looked like she'd just bitten into something sour. "Alright," said Claire clapping her hands together and pushing herself out of the chair, "The people who own this cabin, what did they say we could use?" she asked, asking Lawrence rather than Hilton.

Lawrence cracked a grin, and Hilton flushed. "Ummm…" he stated, suddenly appearing fascinated with his fingernails, "Well, they weren't using it so we figured—"

"Arceus, you broke in‽" Claire stammered, eyes wide. She looked to Hilton for a moment, but when he lifted his head to meet her gaze, she broke the contact, turning away and pacing around the room. "We could get arrested for this if the police find us," she murmured.

" _If_ " Lawrence emphasized, still smiling and baring his pointed incisors in the process. "Besides, the police is far too preoccupied with Reliance to care about a minor inconvenience like this," he said brushing it off.

"Minor?" Claire sputtered, whirling around to face him. "It's breaking and entering!" she exclaimed, sinking back down onto her chair and laying her head on the table.

"Well, they might not plan on coming back, so—" Hilton started to suggested, but Claire cut him off without even looking up from the table.

"Use your brain for once Hilton. They left the water and the power on. They left food in the fridge and clothes in the bedroom," she said in exasperation. "You don't do that unless you plan on coming back sooner rather than later."

"Oh. Right." Hilton looked as embarrassed as I felt.

"Restocking our supplies would be harmless," Latios said with an irritated sigh. "If the humans can afford two homes, I sure they can afford to lose a few trivial possessions. If it truly means that much to you, leave them some of your currency," he said, standing to his feet.

"I-I can't," Claire admitted, finally raising her head to stare at him. "Reliance took all my possessions when they captured me," she confessed. "I'm not even sure what they did to my original clothes once they gave me the uniform to wear."

"I have a little cash," Hilton said, also standing up to go run for his pack. Claire opened her mouth, as if she wanted to stop him, but the words caught in her throat.

"While the two humans pack, I will take Noël to Mahogany Town," Lawrence said, glancing over in my direction with a bored expression. The first syllables of objection passed Claire's lips, but Lawrence silenced her with a wave of his hand. "He doesn't know how to pack, but he is also the only one besides myself who could stand his ground alone if attacked by Reliance grunts, therefore making him the obvious choice."

Claire nodded slowly, but still grimaced in distaste.

I started to object in her place, but Lawrence silenced me with a pointed glare. "Every moment we waste on sentimentality, something horrible could be happening to Cenric, can you accept that?"

' _No…'_ I grumbled, looking down at my feet.

"Good," Lawrence said with a nod, "Then come with me."

 **##~~~Bonus Scene~~~##**

Hilton bumbled around the bathroom, combing through the medicine cabinet for things they might need. They might need a lot of things, but unfortunately, Hilton was the only one with a bag. Maybe he could buy one for Claire in Mahogany Town? He thought back to his significantly emptier wallet now that a wad of cash lay on the coffee table with a note. Then again, maybe not.

Gathering an armful of would-be essentials, he carried them out to the living room, dumping them in the pile they'd amassed.

Drifloon watched blankly from the couch while Claire sat cross-legged on the rug with his backpack open and empty at her side. She was determined to cram as much into it as it physically would allow.

"Noël and Lawrence should be there by now, maybe he's already on the way back," Hilton commented, shuffling awkwardly. His voice came out all wrong. He'd developed a sort of faint lisp since the mutation, and his lungs rattled when he breathed. It sounded disconcerting at best.

Claire didn't respond to his speculation in any form, instead, she continued to sort the objects into several piles, probably by importance.

"Are you worried about him? Noël, I mean. Lawrence doesn't need anyone to worry about him," Hilton said, forcing a smile at his own lame attempt at a joke.

"No," Claire mumbled, never looking up.

Sighing, Hilton lowered himself to the floor, sitting himself across the pile from her. "Claire," he called.

She continued to sort, but managed a faint "yes?"

"Claire," Hilton called again, this time louder.

Claire paused, staring at the potion in her hand. "Yes Hilton, I hear you."

"Look at me," Hilton said quietly.

Claire closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before looking up. Her eyes flashed over his face, and he watched as she tried to keep her face even.

"I still jump when I look in the mirror sometimes," Hilton said, words spilling out before he even knew what he was saying. "When I see myself in a puddle of water or in a window, I jump and think there's a monster, but then I realize it's me." He paused, and Claire had the chance to stop him but stayed silent. Hilton didn't even look up to see what her face must've looked like now. Arceus, she hated him and for good reasons.

"I-I wear a mask in public, so people don't automatically freak out, you know?" Hilton continued, not sure where he was even going with this. "I see myself in the mirror, and I just want to quit. I want to give in like Noël says and go to the hospital. Maybe they could fix me, ya know?" he stammered. "But…" he twisted a burn heal in his hands, trying to find the words. "I'm afraid of being stuck like this forever, but I'm even more afraid they'll do it to my friends and family," he said, in a voice barely audible. "Thank Arceus we found you when we did, but they could be operating on Cenric right now, and what if they succeed? What if they start kidnapping ordinary people like my family? I-I can't let that happen…I can't let them do this to anyone else," he said.

When he finished, silence rang out. Anxiously, he peaked up over the rim of his glasses to gauge Claire's reaction. She made patterns in the rug with her fingers, wearing an inscrutable expression. "So…" she said slowly, breaking the heavy silence, "You're not coming along just to follow me anymore?" she asked in a mumble.

"No," was all that Hilton could manage.

(***)

 **A/N:** There we go, that's most of the talking out of the way. Time for action again? Maybe? Also a couple more disagreements this chapter and we finally get to see more of Claire's personality come out. Is she what you thought she'd be? Do you think Lawrence's suspicion of her is justified? What about their decision to go to Mahogany Town even in their weakened states?


	26. In Vain

**A/N:** Happy (early) New Year! May 2017 be better than the dumpster fire 2016 was. Have a half-chapter on me.

 **Chapter 26: In Vain**

 **(***)**

Cenric ran down the dark hall, the sounds of his own breathing loud in his ears. His legs shook with every pounding step, always threatening to buckle beneath him. He glanced backwards at the empty hallway. They hadn't realized yet. If his breathing didn't give him away, he might just make it out of it. He'd meet Hilton, Noël, and Lawrence in Mahogany Town, and they'd escape Johto together.

Cenric rounded the corner and almost slammed head-first into a heavy metal door. He yanked at the knob, finding it locked tight without the proper key card. Cenric yanked at the knob with all his might. It didn't budge. He heard footsteps now. Their echoes made it almost impossible to judge how close they were. Cenric pried at the crack, trying to squeeze his finger between the door and the wall. Sweat dripped down his back between his shoulder blades, cementing his wild hair to the sides of his face and neck.

He rammed his shoulder against the heavy metal, jarring his bones and joints. The door didn't budge. He threw himself against the door again, knowing it wouldn't do anything. Flesh and bone couldn't bend metal. Angry tears stung his eyes and nose. He'd come so close this time! And now that he was two feet away from freedom, a locked door stood in his way.

He rammed his shoulder into the door until cold hands pulled him away. His entire shoulder stung, but he barely felt it.

He barely felt anything these days.

Like a cornered snake, he turned on Cyan.

"Fine, you caught me again! Congratulations on keeping an innocent person hostage for one day more! Gloat why don't you!" he spat, the effort causing the room to spin. "Tell me how much better than me you are! Tell me how weak I am just like your boss does," he shouted, stumbling from his vertigo and trying to jerk away from her grip at the same time, but her steel arms kept him trapped.

She looked at him, head slightly askew so her blonde hair fell over her right shoulder. He could've sworn the corners of her lips pressed downwards in the slightest hint of concern. Cenric rubbed at his blurred vision, trying to get a better look, but once it cleared, a blank-faced Cyan stared back at him.

"Why are you doing this?" Cenric murmured, staring straight into her clouded eyes. "Why are you helping her? She abuses you too, Cyan! Do you even care at all‽" he asked voice crescendoing with every question. "If we worked together we could escape! All we need is—"

The clacking of heels killed the words on his tongue. Cenric stiffened. He'd come to memorize that sound.

"What a novel idea, Cenric," came that clear, cold voice. The Commander strode up to Cyan's side, draping her arms around the woman. "Too bad she owes her sole allegiance to me," the older woman whispered with a fake grin. She withdrew her arms from around Cyan, and the pretense of pleasantness dropped from her face as she turned to the shorter woman.

"You are dismissed," she hissed. Cyan stood stationary, glancing from the Commander to Cenric and back. "Dis. Missed." The older woman repeated, eyes narrowing. Cyan glanced back at Cenric one last time before turning, released her grip on him, and walked back down the hallway.

The commander watched Cyan disappear around the corner before turning back to Cenric. "You've got to be careful about these little games, Cenric," she said smiling, "We wouldn't want you to tear your stitches again, would we?" she said with a sympathetic smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Pity. If your friends had been here, you might have been able to make it through that door. Ah, what was his name? The little chubby one? Harold something?"

Cenric watched her with tired eyes, knowing enough now that replying to her would just make the conversation last longer.

"He saved his little girlfriend, you know?" she added casually, and Cenric's eyes widened.

Really? He managed to do it? But why was she telling him? It had to be a lie.

"I vaguely remember him from Castelia. A failed experiment. Horrific side effects. He might drop dead any minute," she continued, watching him with calculating eyes. She was trying to goad a response out of him, but he resisted the urge to defend Hilton

"Who knows, maybe they'll realize you're just Reliance trash and not worth it and go back home," she said quietly, smiling sweetly.

"They'd never abandoned me," Cenric mumbled, wishing he could withdraw the words immediately. Her eyes lit up.

"Just like your pokémon would never abandon you? Just like your family?" she asked, grinning in genuine pleasure now.

Cenric scoffed. "They've broken into your bases before. They can do it again. They'll come."

Her smile only widened at that. "Take care of yourself Cenric, we've got a big trip to make today."


	27. Mahogany Town

**Chapter 27: Mahogany Town**

 **(***)**

I walked beside Claire, trying to keep my obvious hovering discreet.

"Noël, I'm fine," she said with a yawn, pushing aside a branch, but getting rain droplets thrown in her face for her trouble.

Hilton shuffled along behind us, breathing hard in his mask. Drifloon had wrapped herself around his wrist. It was thanks to me she was conscious at all. After a solid twelve hours of sleep, most of my psychic energy had returned, and I could feel my physical body start to repair itself, but the humans weren't so lucky. Claire still walked with a limp, and Hilton swore he still could taste lake water.

We trudged through the damp forest in silence as gray clouds rolled above the dark trees. Lawrence decided his presence would be too conspicuous, so he'd decided—after dropping us off outside the town—to do more aerial reconnaissance and contact us if he found anything. Hilton tried to start a conversation several times, but after a series of Claire's one-syllable answers, he decided better of it, leaving us in a thick silence.

All at once, my chest began to thrum. I whipped around and caught Hilton as he tripped over a rather large root.

"Thanks, Noël!" he breathed, voice muffled by the mask. I started to berate his clumsiness, but a flash of movement behind him silenced me. The root started to squirm, pulling itself off the ground. My eyes widened as a bellsprout pulled itself off the ground. Arceus, not again. But had they always been that small?

Hilton noticed my expression and frowned in confusion. "Wha-?" I spun him around to see the angry-looking wild pokémon. "Oh… listen, I'm sorry I accidentally tripped over you," apologized to the pokémon, but he wasn't haveing any of it. I looked back over to Claire in worry, but she just watched on with interest.

The bellsprout inched forward, and Hilton stepped backward. Claire sighed in frustration.

"Hilton, you have the type advantage. Drifloon can take him," she said, folding her arms and leaning back against a tree. Hilton looked down at Drifloon, and the pokémon detached herself from Hilton's arm, floating over to stand between Hilton and her opponent.

"Okay, Drifloon use Gust!" commanded Hilton, sounding anything but authoritative.

Drifloon began to glow, sucking air into her bulbous head that stretched like a balloon. Her tails spun round until they blurred, then Drifloon released cyclone in the bellsprout's direction. The grass-type tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. The barrage of air blasted him back into a tree. He collapsed to the forest floor, unconscious. Hilton cheered and I grinned. Even Claire nodded her head in approval.

A series of thuds caused the smile to die on my face. Weepinbell after weepinbell dropped from the overhanging branches to surround us. As panic began to twist my intestines, I spun around, looking to Claire.

She smiled, a brown eyebrow raised in question. Pushing herself off the tree, she limped over to me, placing herself back to back with Hilton, so I was between her and the wild horde. "Come on Noël, it'll be just like old times," she joked.

' _I lost back then too!'_ I complained, watching the weepinbell increase in number by the second.

"Umm, Claire?" Hilton asked, having the same reservations as me.

"Just don't let them affect you with status conditions," Claire said, focusing on our opponents. "Alright, Noël, let's see how strong that Confusion of yours is now," she said. I nodded, focusing on my first opponent.

Reaching back into my mind, I dragged my power forth, letting it surge through the air and grab the first weepinbell. A gust of wind buffeted by back at Drifloon began to fight again, but I maintained my focus, lifting the grass type off the ground than violently rattling it before releasing my hold. It fell to the ground, unconscious. I grinned. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

The second weepinbell launched a spray of fluorescent orange acid at me. I jumped out of the way, trying to pull their attention away from Claire's direction. The spray of acid almost grazed my shoulder, blasting past me to melt a tree to my left. I swallowed hard, okay, maybe not that easy. Before the second weepinbell could spray me again, and hurled her into the air with confusion.

As soon as I'd finished off the second one, a cloud of purple dust threatened to consume me.

"Noël, dodge that! It's Poison Powder! Remember you don't have Synchronize anymore!" Claire called. I dove behind a tree, letting the cloud collide with it and dissipate.

' _You don't have to tell me twice!'_ I called back, taking out a third weepinbell with confusion. I allowed myself a quick glance over in Hilton's direction. Drifloon wasn't able to take the weepinbell out with the same ease I had, but she'd managed to take one down with gust and was working on the second.

Taking advantage of my tree shield, I sent my energy to attack a fourth weepinbell. Only about three remained, but they looked by far the strongest.

"Noël, get out of there! She's about to use Acid!" Claire shouted. Eyes wide, I watched the weepinbell approach, her eyes trained on me. My chest started to thrum, and I felt the sequence of events before they happened.

She sprayed me with a jet of corrosive liquid, and I dove under it and to the left, successfully predicting her pattern. I jumped to my feet and extended my elbow blades, smashing them into her head. The fifth weepinbell toppled to the side, unconscious. I directed my attention to the last two, feeling their fear knowing at their outrage. I stepped forward, and they hopped backward.

I looked back to Claire for orders. She nodded. Rounding on the remaining two, I grabbed one with Confusion, smashing it into the other. They fell into a heap and didn't get up. I jumped into the air, whooping. I ran back over to Claire, grin stretched wide.

' _Did you see me Claire? Did you see me take out all those pokémon by myself?'_ I asked, grinning wildly.

"I sure did," she said with a warm smile, leaning in to hug me, but being careful not to impale herself on my chest fin. Peaking over him, I spotted the last two weepinbell, facing Drifloon and Hilton. Together they'd managed to take out three weepinbell, but the last two working in tandem threatened to overwhelm them. Claire turned to survey the scene.

"Why don't you take out one and give them a fair fight?" she asked quietly. I nodded focusing on the closest grass-type. I hurled it into the air, and rattled it, letting it sink back to the ground with its fallen brethren, and leaving Hilton and Drifloon to deal with the last one.

"Drifloon, use Gust!" Hilton commanded again, but his pokémon didn't respond, instead jerking in the air like she'd been possessed. The weepinbell inhaled, ready to spray the duo with flesh-melting acid.

"Noël!" Claire shouted, and I jumped forward, extending my elbow blades again. But before I could, a black and red aura emanated from Drifloon. I jumped backward, recognizing that foul ghost-type presence when I felt it. The last weepinbell froze, suspended in place by an identical aura. Violet fire flashed to life, hovering in place by Drifloon. She shot the will-o'-wisps at the paralyzed weepinbell. Every one collided with a splash of flame. The auras around Drifloon and Weepinbell vanished, and weepinbell fell in a heap.

"I don—wha—I—wha?" Hilton stammered, watching his pokémon in amazement.

"Drifloon just learned Hex, congratulations," Claire said, nodding in approval. "Too bad you don't have any moves that cause status conditions," she said, mostly to herself, rubbing her chin in thought. She turned back to me. "Great job out there, Noël. You've gotten much stronger," she said with a smile.

My chest puffed out proudly. ' _I have, haven't I? I could almost take on Mantine now, couldn't I?'_ I asked.

Claire chuckled at that, "Not quite, but you're getting there." I rocked back and forth on my feet, dreaming about the day I might be able to go toe-to-toe with Claire's first pokémon and longtime companion.

' _Too bad the rest of the team isn't here_ ,' I mumbled. Reliance wouldn't seem nearly as frightening with their might behind us. Claire frowned at that, staring angrily at the forest floor.

"Dialga would be especially helpful," Hilton commented. I snorted at that and even Claire cracked a smile. The three of us began to move again towards Mahogany Town again. Lawrence had said it'd look more natural if we entered from Route 44 instead if miraculously appearing. Still, I wish he'd set us closer.

Claire broke the silence this time, turning to me. "Have you tried to learn Swords Dance yet?" she asked.

I shook my head. _'We've been a little busy running for our lives,'_ I said.

She grinned at that, but then her smile fell again. "Arceus, I wish I had my book with me, but Reliance took that too. They probably tossed it, along with the rest of it. Including those max revives," she said bitterly. It'd taken us months to save up for those. Claire said they were for Volkner, but even then I knew she'd been hoping to use them on the Elite Four. In her book, she'd amassed volumes of information on the different pokémon species that comprised her team.

"If I remember correctly," she said scrunch her eyes closed as she searched the recesses of her memory, "you need to focus your energy in your arms."

' _Can't I do this later? I'm drained from that fight,'_ I whined. Using Confusion so many times had taken its toll on me.

"C'mon, Noël," she said, lightly elbowing me in the stomach with a grin.

Frowning, I closed my eyes, coming to a stop. _'Any specific point in my arms?_ ' I asked, keeping my eyes closed.

"No clue," Claire confessed. "It was all in the book, but…" she trailed off. Too bad Lawrence had split off. Maybe he could help me? Could latios even learn Swords Dance? Forcing my concentration back on the task at hand. I sent the psychic energy rushing down my arms, causing them to tingle. It bounced around, looking for an escape.

' _Now what?'_ I asked, gritting my teeth as I tried to contain it. "I'm sorry Noël, I don't—" Claire started, but I released my breath and my hold on my powers, letting them snap back into my brain. I stumbled forward, opening my eyes and massaging my temples.

"You'll get it with enough practice," Claire reassured me, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. I rolled my eyes and we kept moving. I turned away in shame.

' _Let's just keep going,'_ I mumbled. Claire nodded and took the lead. I shuffled behind her, secretly trying to direct my powers back to my arm. The mere act of trying and failing so often proved far more draining than Confusion had been.

Several minutes later, we broke through the last of the trees, revealing the familiar small town nestled in the crook of dark sweeping mountains. Claire paused, absorbing the sight with awe.

"The Pokémon Center is this way," Hilton said, pushing past us. Claire and I followed behind, weaving in and out of the spattering of evergreen trees that covered mahogany town.

"Look at those houses," Claire mumbled in awe, brown eyes tracking their slopping roofs and ancient woodwork.

"There it is!" Hilton cried, walking faster towards the peak of an orange roof that shone through the gray trees.

"Wait! Hilton, stop!" Claire hissed, grabbing him by the arm and jerking him behind a tree trunk and almost crushing Drifloon in the process.

"What? Is it that girl, Staci?" he asked eagerly, trying to wiggle out of Claire's grip to take a peak. She pressed a hand against his mouth, peaking around the tree herself.

She cursed under her breath. "I think they might have seen me," she whispered, eyes going wide. I jumped behind another tree, hoping it was wide enough to conceal my larger form. Arceus, it almost made me wish I was a ralts again.

"Mmm hnmm?" Hilton said, muffled by the hand that pressed his mouth against his lips.

Shut up," Claire, hissed, taking another peak. "I recognize them. They work for Reliance," she whispered. My heart beat sped at that. Of all the people after us, this was definitely a worst case scenario.

"They saw me! They're coming this way! We've got to run!" she said, bolting off in the other direction as quickly as she could with her injured foot.

I sprinted after her, glancing backward to see if Hilton was following, but my gaze went past the hobbling boy to the two orange-clad figures behind him. They shouted, reaching for their poké balls.

' _Arceus, who they?'_ I shouted to Claire, matching her pace.

"Reliance," she managed through labored breaths. "My old superiors!" she gasped, barreling towards the woods. A pair of tourists walking by the tree line spotted us.

"Not them!" Claire hissed, spinning around and running in the other direction.

' _Wait, those tourists were Reliance too?'_ I shouted after her.

"Can we stay and fight?" Hilton panted from behind us, Drifloon trailing behind him like a kite tail.

"They're too strong! We've got to escape," she shouted. Another trio broke through the woods on our left.

Chills pulled at my sweat-soaked body and I felt the air leave my lungs as the realization hit me. They knew were we coming. I looked around for any possible escape route out of the wooded village, but grunts swarmed us like angry fire ants from all sides.

' _There!'_ I shouted, ' _There's a warehouse hidden in the trees to our left! Maybe we can hide there until Lawrence can save us,'_ I suggested.

Claire's only response was to sharply veer towards the structure.

"Drifloon!" Hilton called, "Use Ominous Wind!"

The ghost-type detached from Hilton's arm, facing our pursuers.

She tilted forward, eyes glowing blue his arms began to spin, whipping up a murky purple wind that blasted through the trees. Black wind filled the air, making it almost impossible to see in the darkness.

"This way!" Hilton called, grabbing Claire and me by the arms and dragging us through the dark gust. I grabbed Drifloon by the tails and pulled her along behind me. We would've run into the metal door if Hilton hadn't stopped us. Thankfully, it was slightly ajar. Claire tugged it open, so we could slip inside.

The three of us ran forward into the concrete space, but before made it three feet an enormous boom shook the building. Dust exploded behind us, sending brick shrapnel shooting past our heads. A fragment clipped my elbow, sending me spinning like a top and releasing Drifloon in the process.

I stumbled forward, barely able to catch myself. So much for the "hide and wait" plan.

"Noël, use Confusion on the grimer!" Claire called from ahead. Growling, I twisted around, diving out of the way of a rogue Air Slash and focusing my energy on the nearest pokémon streaming through the hole in the wall. I lifted the sentient goo off the ground, shaking it as hard as I could. It fell in a slimy puddle, but to my dismay reshaped itself.

"Ekans, use Poison Sting!" shouted a Reliance grunt, and a poison covered dart sprang out of the darkness. I jumped behind a crate, feeling a thud as it embedded itself where I had been.

"Grimer, use Sludge" called another voice, and another force collided with the box. I screamed as some of the burning liquid touched my flesh. It began eating away at the box, and I scrambled for cover.

A hand pulled me sideways. I jerked my arm away, extending my elbow blades just to see it was Claire with Hilton and Drifloon behind her. We'd managed to squeeze into a narrow gap, no more than a foot wide, between towering crates and the rough wall. Angry shouting echoed around the warehouse as the Reliance grunts realized we'd disappeared. I caught a glimpse of them prowling around between the cracks in the crates.

Claire held a finger to her lips, pulling me down the narrow alley as Hilton walked in front of her. The warehouse lacked air conditioning, and the air was hot and stifling, and almost feeling too thick to breathe. Sweat rolled down my neck and between my shoulder blades. My chest began to thrum in warning, but before I could get the first syllable out the crates to behind us exploded. The force blasted Claire and me through the air.

I twisted my torso, trying to shield Claire from the shrapnel. We barreled into Hilton in a rain of splinters, collapsing to the stone floor.

The splinters in my back stung like a thousand angry hornets, but before I could take even the first out, a blade of air ripped towards us.

' _Move!'_ I shouted, pushing through the wall of boxes into the open. Hilton and Claire scrambled up, barely dodging Air Slash as they followed behind. Dust filled the main floor, spiraling around the metal beams that supported the network of iron pathways suspended over our heads.

"Drifloon," Hilton commanded, "Use ominous wind again!" he called, and drifloon's tails started to spin. I grabbed Claire's wrist, pulling her towards the nearest ladder.

Black wind filled the space again, acting more as a distraction than an offensive attack. Hilton followed us up the ladder with Drifloon floating up behind him. I reached the top first, pulling myself onto the metal path.

An angry shouted echoed from ahead as two orange grunts spilled up onto the path.

Growling, I jumped up, running towards them with elbow blades extended. My fist collided with the first one, ripping a jagged line in his chest and causing him to fall back on to the second. I kicked the first in the chest, and the pair toppled into a groaning pile.

I surveyed the network of paths before us, spying a staircase in the corner that led down to an exit sign _. 'This way!'_ I called. Several more Reliance grunts pulled themselves up onto the second floor from the ladders below, reaching for their poké balls. A screeching golbat dove towards me. I reached my psychic power out, grabbing it in midair and shaking it until it lost consciousness.

Glowing stars flew past me, almost taking off a portion of my ears. I whipped around to see Drifloon trying to hold off the grunts from behind.

"Drifloon, Payback!" Hilton cried, ducking out of the way of another Swift that hit Drifloon and sent him flying back. She managed to right herself and began to glow purple. Drifloon released a barrage of purple energy that struck Golbat in the chest, causing him to plummet out of the sky. I wanted to celebrate her victory, but the sheer number of Reliance grunts swarming up the ladders and spilling out onto the paths left me speechless.

"Thanks for covering for me!" shouted Claire to Hilton as she ran to my side.

"That's what friends are for," he shouted back.

The grunts closed in on both sides, squishing us back to back. I swallowed hard, looking at the flood of Reliance grunts. We weren't getting out of this one.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** And so to answer Derpy 2.0's review from last week: _"What pokémon make up the rest of Claire's team?"_ Her starter was a mantine, but she also has a luxray, roserade, staraptor, and the last two slots are filled by Noel and Dialga. All of whom, except Noel, are still MIA.


	28. Five Yards

**Chapter 28: Five Yards**

 **(***)**

Cenric managed to convince the guard to let him take the window seat by vomiting on his shoe. After all, there was no way he could escape from a car moving at 50mph when he was handcuffed.

Through the dark, tinted windows he watched the pines blur past as the car took the mountain road's curves. His guards, occupying every seat in the car save the one he sat in himself, stayed silent so only the hum of the engine, faint AC, and the sound of rocks being crushed be the tires beneath them filled the emptiness.

These grunts were smarter than his previous guards. The Commander had taken care of those idiots after his last escape attempt, replacing them with his current set. Still, they underestimated him. Trying to look casual, Cenric twisted his body so his back, and by extension the hands cuffed behind it, were facing the door, allowing him to feel around without the guards seeing.

The grunts didn't even have pokémon on them. Did she really think she'd broken him that far? Well, she was wrong. Dead wrong. Cenric felt the door lock, wrapping his fingers around it. He burst into a fit of fake coughs, using the noise as a mask for him pulled at the lock. He felt it click open.

The Reliance recoiled at his spray of saliva, prodding him in the shoulder with their batons. The grunt driving the car watched Cenric through the mirror, and he froze. They hit a pothole and his attention returned to the winding road. Cenric took a deep breath, playing with the door handle.

Here it was. A curve coming up and he'd be on the inside of it. Do or die.

The driving Reliance grunt cranked the wheel, slowing to take the curve. Cenric wrapped his hands around the door handle and threw his entire weight against it. He flew out of the vehicle, hanging in midair for a moment in time before smashing into the dirt road. He rolled to a stop, panting heavily as his body tried to catch up with his mind.

He didn't feel any pain. That wasn't a good sign. He heard tires screech and knew he didn't have time to question this blessing in disguise. Pushing himself to his feet, he sprinted off the road and tore through the forest. He heard the grunts shouting close behind, but the only thing that filled his mind was "run".

He spotted roofs in the distance and ran faster. Faster than his abused body ought to be able to go. He didn't feel his breaking legs or bleeding stomach or the branches as they slapped and tore at him as they passed. All he could feel was his heart beat raging against his chest, screaming "faster" "faster".

Cenric broke through the trees to find himself in a calm town, but the grunts behind him were gaining. He had to find a place to lose them! The corner of a warehouse poked through the trees and he veered towards it. Arceus, where were Hilton and Noël? They said they'd be here right? Where were they?

He grabbed the doorknob, trying to yank the door open, but it was jammed. The grunt's shouting was getting louder. He took several steps back and ran forward, throwing his shoulder against the metal door. It gave beneath him, swinging inwards as Cenric stumbled inside, trying to catch his balance. Having difficulty adjusted to the lower light levels, Cenric paused, heart still racing.

Silence filled the hot, empty warehouse, creeping around the tall towers of crates and palettes. The sound of Cenric's own breathing sounded deafening, but he knew that wouldn't last. He kicked the door closed behind him, hoping it would jam again and buy him some more time.

Sweat dripped down his forehead from his previous exertion and the hot, sticky air. His entire body still felt numb, and Arceus willing, it would stay that way until he reached safety. Cenric took several steps forward into the dark warehouse as his eyes began to adjust. He spied a metal staircase to his left and ran for it. The commotion outside was getting louder. Soon, they'd be inside.

The second floor's metal pathways could hide him for a few moments, but they were exposed, and it wouldn't take the grunts long to see him. He heard the door bang open beneath him. Biting his lip and looking around, he saw a nondescript ladder attached to the wall, and with a deep breath his scaled it up into the warehouse's rafters. Just as he settled himself between the wall and a metal support, part of the outside wall exploded, shaking the building.

Cenric lurched for the support, holding it until his knuckled turned white. Beneath him, light streamed in through the hole, exposing the scene below. Reliance grunts streamed in—way more than just his four guards! To get here this quickly they must've been in the town already! Cenric whispered a curse. If this many Reliance grunts were here, that meant he couldn't go to the Pokémon Center or police for help. Reliance probably already had their agents nested there too.

A flash of blue caught his eye, leading him down the wall to a very narrow gap between the wall itself and large stacks of crates. Cenric almost shouted out, biting his tongue at the last minute. It was Hilton and Drifloon! They had come for him! That gallade had to be Noël somehow, but who was the brown-haired girl with them? Unbidden, the Commander's words rose to the top of his mind:

" _He saved his little girlfriend, you know?"_

Had that been the truth? Was that girl actually Claire? When had they saved her? She hadn't been in the Ice Path with them. Did that mean they went to save her instead of looking for him after Reliance recaptured him? His mouth tasted bitter, but as he tried to push off his mental demons, one of the Reliance grunts on the bottom floor noticed Hilton and his friends.

He wanted to shout out and warn them, but even if his voice did manage to carry over the bedlam he'd reveal his location in the process. The Reliance grunt ordered her pokémon to launch an attack at the wall of crates, causing them to explode behind Noël. His friends fell forward, scrambling up and pushing through the boxes into the center of the warehouse.

Cenric gasped, grunts were swarming in from every side. He was going to have to sit and watch his friends get captured. Horror twisted his stomach even as something dark whispered inside of him, _'isn't that exactly what they did to you?'_

Below him, Hilton shouted something at Drifloon, and the pokémon responded by filling their immediate vicinity with black air and hurricane gusts of wind. Thankfully Drifloon's attack stayed low, and only a light wind tugged on Cenric's sweat-soaked bangs.

His arms, still numb, began to quake under the strain of keeping him glued to the support, but Cenric ignored them in favor of watching Noël scale the ladder onto the metal pathways. Grunts met him there, but he managed to dispatch the first two with ease. Despite Noël's efforts, more and more grunts climbed the ladders, surrounding the small group. Hilton's drifloon let out another powerful gust of wind, knocking several Reliance grunts off the platform and down to the first floor.

With a pulse of energy, Drifloon began to glow white. Cenric's breath caught in his throat.

The glowing pokémon inflated, bulbous head growing larger and tails growing shorter and fatter. Hilton, Noël, and Claire roared in triumph. The glow shattered, leaving a fully-formed Drifblim behind. The Reliance grunts growled, commanding their pokémon to push in on the trainers.

The loud bang of a door opening dragged Cenric's attention away from his friend's plight. His twisted his torso as far as he could manage to see behind him. On the back wall of the warehouse another door had opened, letting light stream inside and silhouetting four familiar black figures. His guards. They stared up upwards at the matrix of metal paths above, heads swiveling like predators.

On the other side of the warehouse, Noël's arms begin to glow purple as Drifblim let out an even stronger gust of wind. The brown hair girl with them cheered as Noël broke through the line of Reliance grunts, and Hilton ran after her while Drifblim took up the rear.

Cenric's guards climbed the nearest ladder to the second level, observing Claire, Noël and Hilton.'s battle from a distance but still searching the room for him.

"Drifblim, use Ominous Wind again!" came Hilton's echoing voice. The large pokémon expanded further, whipping up a storm with her tails. The area around them filled with opaque purple smoke. Cenric squinted, trying to see his friends through the fog. There! They ran for the ladder, scurrying up to his level on the rafters while the grunts below couldn't see.

He wanted to call to them. To show them he'd made it against all odds and was here like he said he'd be, but his guards were climbing up the other staircase. Cenric scooted further out onto the rafter, trying to move his body behind one of the supports, hiding from his guards, but also Hilton and Noël in the process.

Cenric wanted to scream. His friends were within five yards of him, but he couldn't reveal himself or call to them without getting caught himself. But he _needed_ to warn them about his guards climbing the ladder behind him!

"Hilton," whispered Claire. Did she see his guards coming? Arceus their footsteps were deafening. Why couldn't they hear them‽

"We have to get out of here," Hilton finished for her, never taking his eyes of the scurrying Reliance grunts below.

"What about your friend. Didn't he say he'd be-?" Claire started, but he cut her off.

"I know!" Hilton whispered. "What choice do we have? I won't let any of us get recaptured for the off chance that Cenric got away from Reliance and is waiting for us here," he whispered. Their heads turned in Noël's direction as he communicated with them telepathically.

"No! I'm made it!" Cenric whispered as loud as he dared. "Guys, I'm here!" he said louder. "G—" Something sharp pinched the back of his shoulder. His vision began to swim as colors blurred together and rough hands grabbed hold of him.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** _Six little Indian Boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five._


	29. A Blizzard in July

**Chapter 29: A Blizzard in July**

 **(***)**

"We have to get out of here," Hilton said between quite, labored breaths while watching the chaos below.

Claire's eyes flicked to him. "What about your friend. Didn't he say he'd be-?" she started to hiss.

"I know!" Hilton interjected with a hoarse rasp. "What choice do we have? I won't let any of us get recaptured for the off chance that Cenric got away from Reliance and is waiting for us here," he whispered.

' _I'm sure Cenric's smart enough to get out of Mahogany Town,'_ I added. Claire nodded, but Hilton grimaced.

' _He'll be alright, Hilton. Cenric's stronger than us,'_ I added. _'If anyone can, it's him.'_

Claire stiffened, head whipping around. "What was that?" she hissed, scanning the web of metal rafters suspended above the chaotic warehouse.

"What?" Hilton asked, trying to listen despite the shouting Reliance grunts swarming beneath us.

I looked around, trying to peer into the dark expanse around us. The stains on the walls combined with the flickering shadows from below, casting phantom figures on the wall. Tearing my eyes away I turned back to my teammates.

"Can you call Lawrence for help?" Hilton asked.

"Wait, you could've called Lawrence this whole time?" Claire hissed.

' _That kind of long-range telepathy requires a lot of concentration, and I've been focusing more on the whole not-dying thing recently,'_ I snapped, regretting the tone of my words as soon as the finished echoing in our heads. Claire just nodded though, too tired to take offense. I turned back to Hilton. 'I _can try calling Lawrence, but I he said he'd be doing 'aerial surveillance' and I just don't know if I'll be able to reach him_ ,' I said, before closing my eyes and concentrating.

"I know someone who _will_ answer," Hilton said and reached for his cross-transceiver, dialing a number. The cross-transceiver began to ring quietly. Thank Arceus the commotion from below was enough to cover the noise.

A picture of Christine Allen flicked onto the screen. She looked like she was on a plane.

"Hilton, what a pleasant surprise," she said, voice crackling through the static. Her expression softened.

"Wait, wrong number! Sorry Ms. Allen!" Hilton said, reached for the 'end' button.

"Wait, Hilton! Are you in trouble?" she asked, white-blonde eyebrows knitting together in concern.

"I don't have time to talk," Hilton whispered, looking past his cross-transceiver at the Reliance grunts crawling below.

"Are you still in Johto? How can I help?" she asked, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"Well, unless you have an army of Independence volunteers in Mahogany Town that can fight off a hoard of Reliance grunts, I don't think you can," Hilton whispered, reaching for the button again.

Ms. Allen frowned for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Actually I do!" she whispered excitedly. "They're holding a charity auction tonight at Ecruteak City! I can send them over immediately! Oh, and I can call the League too! Where are you?" she asked.

"In a warehouse by the edge of town! Tell them to hurry!" Hilton whispered. Ms. Allen nodded. "Stay there and stay hidden until they get there. Be smart and be safe," she whispered serious concern in her eyes and broke the connection.

"I meant to call Staci," Hilton admitted when the screen went dark.

"That was the head of Independence," Claire mumbled. "How do you-?"

' _Long story,'_ I said, tightening my grip on the rafter. Now that the League knew where we were, they'd hospitalize Hilton for sure-assuming they even found us in time. But that'd be a good thing, right? It'd be best for Hilton anyways.

"Why would you call that Staci girl over the police?" Claire asked, face twisting in confusion.

Hilton just shot me a nervous look.

"Right, of course" Claire grumbled. "For a second I forgot who I was talking to." She glanced in my direction. "How much juice do you have left?" she whispered.

' _Not enough to get us out of here, not even with Swords Dance,'_ I admitted, referencing the move I'd finally taught myself.

"Can you teleport us?" Hilton asked.

' _I…'_ I paused, brow scrunching together. ' _I-I don't think I know how,'_ I said, searching the recesses of my brain. How had I done it before?

Claire gritted her teeth, exhaling sharply. "Of course, Swords Dance replaced Teleport."

My eyes widened. Sure, I barely could use teleport without the risk of death, but to not have that final, desperate option anymore…

Hilton turned to Drifblim. "Do you think we could fly out? Now that she's big enough?" he asked, surveying his newly evolved pokémon.

"He might be able to take one person, but where? You'd have to blast a hole in the ceiling or fly through an exit on the ground floor," Claire said.

Hilton frowned in frustration tightening his grip on the rafter until his knuckles turned white. He turned back to me. "Any luck with Lawrence?" he asked.

I shook my head. _'But I can try again,'_ I said, closing my eyes and concentrating. I focused on my words and the massive slice of atmosphere above us. _'Lawrence! Help!'_ I projected with as much force as I could muster. Only silence greeted me.

I sighed, leaning against the support that held the thin piece of metal we all sat on. ' _I have no idea if he heard that. He could be anywhere, and all this metal around us doesn't help either_ ,' I said.

"We'll have to wait until the League or Independence gets here," Hilton whispered.

"We don't have enough time!" Claire hissed back. "They're going to-!"

"Hey, up there!" shouted a Reliance grunt from the second floor, pointing in our direction.

"Sh—" Claire's profanity was cut short by a blast of flames, shooting in our direction. Instinctively, I grabbed Claire by the waist, wrapping my airs around her and pushing myself off the rafter. The flames singed my back as we plummeted through the air. I landed on the metal pathway below with a bang and collapsed to my knees, and dropped Claire.

"Golbat, use Air Slash!" commanded the grunt in front of us.

"Noël!" Claire gasped, pushing herself off the floor, "Use Confusion!"

Without even bothering to stand, I sent my psychic power snaking towards the Golbat.

"Ratticate, use Hyper Fang!" shouted another voice from behind. My chest thrummed, and I dropped my hold on Golbat to twist around and deliver a kick that sent Ratticate flying backward. Pulling myself up by the metal railing, I spun around to see Claire slowly backing away from the Golbat.

I extended my elbow blades, pushing my energy into them. I let it flow through my arteries and invigorate my muscles. They started to glow a soft purple as Sword's Dance finished. The glow faded, but my arms still burst with vitality. I rushed over to Claire's side and pushed the Golbat back with a series of spinning strikes.

A barrage of purple energy bolts hit my opponent from the behind, sending him spiraling downwards. In the golbat's place, Drifblim descended towards us, supporting a dangling Hilton with her tails. I turned back to the Reliance grunt who owned the golbat. She reached for her thigh where three more poké balls were strapped. I groaned internally.

Before she could release her next pokémon, the building began to shake. We all—Reliance grunts included-clutched at the railing or risked being thrown off. In the chaos, I watched all the remaining grunts on the bottom floor topple over like dominoes without anything to support them.

Below us, the main set of double doors rocketed off their hinges in a cloud of smoke, sending light flooding through the warehouse and revealing an enormous figure.

It burst through the cloud, followed by several other shapes. I squinted, trying to make out just what we were up against now.

"Jynx, use Blizzard!" called a voice from the dust.

Oh sh—a violent wind storm blew me back into the rail behind me. Blasts of arctic air shot straight through to my bones. The sheer force of it made it difficult to stand at all. Flecks of snow whipped through the air, buffeting us like razor blades and making my entire body sting.

"It's Pryce!" shouted one of the Reliance grunts through the sea of white. Pryce? Pryce! Ms. Allen came through! I dropped to my knees, shielding my eyes and crawling blind until I found a leg. The only reason I knew it belonged to Claire was because of the ugly scar that marred it. Her hands emerged from the storm, clutching my upper arms. I wrapped my arm around her torso, trying to pull her up.

"Get out!" shouted another Reliance grunt, though her voice was nearly eaten by the howling wind. Figured stumbled past us, but I made no effort to pursue. Instead, I clutched Claire's face to my torso, wrapping my arms around her head in hopes of shielding her as much as possible.

All at once the storm stopped. I looked up in surprise. Small snowflakes floated down, landing softly on the snow that blanketed everything. I twisted my head to see the last of the Reliance grunts scrambling out the back door. Claire pulled away and I withdrew my numb arms to rub my stinging eyes.

"It's Pryce," Claire breathed, walking over to the other railing to stare down onto the main floor. The snow crunched under her feet. It was almost like being back in Sinnoh again. I followed her lead, careful not to make contact with the freezing rail.

In the center of the warehouse, surround by a pristine blanket of snow, stood an enormous mamoswine, on top of which a small figure sat. The old made, swung his leg over, sliding down his pokémon's back and landing on the snowy ground behind him.

A crowd of ice-type pokémon encircled him, ready to fight anyone stupid enough to attack The Winter Trainer.

"C-c'mon, Noël," Claire said, shivering as she trod towards the ladder. She looked pale, except for her crimson nose. I followed after her with a quiet laugh expressed in an icy puff.

We descended the ladder onto the main floor, traversing over the sea of footprints the Reliance grunts left during their hasty retreat.

Pryce saw us and smiled in relief, walking over while his pokémon watched from behind.

"You must be one of the trainers I came to save, but I must say, young lady, you don't look much like a Hilton," he said.

Claire tried to laugh, but it came out like more of a groan through her chattering teeth.

Pryce laughed, and unbuttoned his jacket, swinging it around her shoulder. Claire pulled it close gratefully.

"I thought you Sinnoh trainers would be used to this," he said with a chuckle.

"Snow? Yes. Jumping from the middle of July into the middle of January? Not so much," Claire managed, trying to brush some of the snow out of her hair. "Isn't Reliance getting away?" she asked, meeting Pryce's grey-brown eyes.

He turned back to look at his pokémon. He gestured towards where the Reliance grunts had fled with a nod of his head. Several of them broke off, racing past us and following the footprints.

"My pokémon are strong enough to stand the harshest winter. Finding a couple of goons will be simple for them," Pryce said confidently, turning his gaze back to us. "Where is Hilton?"

What an excellent question. I looked around, searching for any signs of the green-haired boy or his pokémon.

"I'm over here!" shouted a muffled voice, as a distant snow drift began to shake. Drifblim rose out of the snow, revealing Hilton cradled beneath her. Drifblim floated over, carrying Hilton with her tails.

Claire and I breathed a collective sigh of relief. Thank Arceus he hadn't been recaptured or worse.

"Come on," Pryce gestured to us, stepping back towards his pokémon. "Mamoswine will help you to the Pokémon Center."


	30. Respite?

**Chapter 30: Respite?**

 **(***)**

We sat around Pryce's kitchen table while his wife, Sheila, put on her third pot of hot water. We were going through hot chocolate like air as Claire explained everything we knew about Reliance up to this point while I, and less frequently Hilton, chimed in on occasion.

After a particularly long spew of information, Claire yawned, stretching her arms above her. She winced as the motion pulled at her sore muscles. New, angry purple bruises marred her skin over the field of older yellowing bruises from her imprisonment.

' _Too bad we can't just heal you at the Pokémon Center_ ,' I said, staring at Claire and forcing a smile.

She looked up at me from her hot chocolate with a grin. "Stop rubbing it in, Noël. Not all of us are that lucky."

For the first time in what felt like forever, I'd been healed at a Pokémon Center again. Arceus was it glorious. From the largest wound to the smallest bruise, all wiped away. Even the exhaustion that seemed ever-present had been banished from my tired bones. I felt alive again.

Hilton wasn't faring nearly as well. He clutched his mug in two hands with three woolen blankets draped over his shoulders. His masked rested on the table nearby, still miraculously unscathed. He looked pale, and his breathing was slow. Everything about him seemed slow. He even blinked slowly.

Pryce returned from another room, coming up to the kitchens table and surveying his guests. "I just told the rest of the League what you told me. They assured me they'd start dispatching trainers to both Hoenn and Johto," he said seating himself.

"Realistically, how effective is the League going to be, though? They have to meet for three days just to decide if they're going to meet for three days," Claire said with a groan.

Pryce sighed at that. "The core of the Reliance grunts are made of drifters from the other organizations. There is no new enemy here. Just a combination of old ones. And that's what makes them so dangerous," he said.

Claire nodded at that, taking another sip of her cocoa. "Hopefully their big "world domination and pokémon enslavement" plan will distract them from chasing us for long enough that we can stop them," she mumbled. The clack her mug made on the table echoed around the still room.

Pryce looked from Claire to Hilton with a saddened frown, then to his wife who watched from the recesses of the kitchen. She nodded gently.

Smiling softly, he turned back to us. "I'd like for you kids to stay here. At least until the rest of the League comes," he said.

Claire's eyes widened at that. "I-uh-we couldn't impose," she said, fumbling with her words. "I mean you've already done more than enough, and the Pokémon Center—"

Pryce shook his hand. "I wouldn't hear of it. Besides, you're safer here with me than you are at the Pokémon Center," he reasoned.

"I suppose so," Claire muttered with an expression that remained unconvinced.

"We have an extra bedroom for when our grandkids come to visit," Sheila added, pushing herself off from the counter and walking over to us. "I can have their rooms ready in just a jiffy," she said with a motherly smile, squeezing Hilton's shoulder.

"Thank you," Hilton said quietly, finally stirring from his trance.

Pryce went off with Sheila to get the rooms prepared, but when Claire and I tried to join them, they'd adamantly refused assistance.

Embarrassed, Claire sat back in her chair, staring into an empty mug. "Did you really mean what you said?" she asked softly, glancing up at Hilton.

He slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers, face open in a question.

"About leaving Cenric," she clarified, returning her gaze to her mug.

"I don't know," he murmured.

' _Why don't we wait until Lawrence gets back? He can be smart when he's not trying to kill Reliance grunts in a blind rage,'_ I said.

"Were you ever able to get in contact with him?" Claire asked, and I shook my head.

' _I mean, he knows we're in Mahogany Town, so he probably won't be too long,'_ I said. As much as Pryce's display at the warehouse impressed me, I couldn't help but feel like Lawrence was the best protection we could have.

"Unless he was captured again," mumbled Claire, not to anyone in particular. She ran her finger around the lip of the mug absently.

"Kids, why don't you come in here?" called Pryce's voice from the other room. Claire set her empty mug down, pushing herself up and heading for the door with curiosity written on her face. She paused in the doorway, looking backward. "Aren't you coming, Noël?"

I slipped out of my chair and walked over to Hilton.

' _C'mon,'_ I hummed, pulling on his arms. ' _Upsy daisy.'_ With much resistance, Hilton allowed me to pull him out of the chair. I turned to follow Claire, and in turn Hilton shuffled after me, keeping his blankets pulled close.

We found ourselves in a living room in which Pryce stood in the center. A presently empty fireplace sat behind him with an average-sized TV suspended above the hearth.

"Take a seat, please," he insisted, gesturing to the plush couch before us. I sat in the middle with Claire and Hilton on either side. Almost immediately, Hilton curled up into a ball, resting his head on the armrest and cocooning himself in blankets.

"I know you kids may have been out of the loop for a time, but today Kalos's elite four is being challenged, and they've decided to broadcast the matches," he said, clicking on the television.

Claire's eyes widened. "That means the challenger might have a chance of winning," she mumbled watching the screen with awe.

Pryce nodded sagely. "I was wondering if you kids would want to watch with me after I finish helping Sheila." Claire nodded with enthusiasm, eyes lighting up. I couldn't help but smile. Battles always did excite her the most.

"Is that alright with you Hilton," Pryce asked, turning his attention to the wad of blankets.

"Mm-hmm," came a muffled hum of consent from somewhere beneath the rolls of fleece. Smiling, Pryce headed back down the hallway, leavening the three of us alone.

Claire looked back to the screen with interest. Commercials flashed across the glass, advertising hair products, prescription drugs, and several types of insurance. Claire's smile fell as she crossed her arms and drummed her fingers impatiently against her upper arm.

"I wonder who it is," she mumbled, staring at the screen. "There were a couple of Ace Trainers who were close, but…" she trailed off in thought, lost in type advantages, team diversity, and level differences.

The screen flashed to a recording of a press conference. A dark-skinned man with black circles beneath his eyes addressed the audience while the newscaster spoke over the footage. It was part of the new bulletins the Battle Channel tended to do before or after commercial breaks.

"In other news, the son of Corrati Steel Coporation's CEO is still missing, presumed kidnapped by Reliance. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the number at the bottom of the screen."

A picture of Christine Allen flashed on the screen, drawing my attention.

"Despite Reliance's increasing effort to stop them, Ms. Allen confirmed that Independence will still be holding the Poké Festival on schedule. Join us at six to get a little sneak peak at Independence's proposed green energy plan they're releasing in just three days."

"Oh, they'll definitely try to stop her," Claire said, as the news logo flashed across the screen and an aerial shot of an ongoing battle took its place.

' _Why does Reliance hate Independence so much again?'_ I asked. ' _I mean, Reliance is made up of a bunch of ex-grunts, right? Why would they care about clean energy?'_

Claire sighed, running a hand through her coffee brown hair. "Most of them just want someone to fight," she confessed, folding her hands behind her head and looking in my direction.

' _But why the mutations? They want to enslave pokémon and keep them subservient to humans, but then why would they want to mix humans with something they think is inferior? It just doesn't make any sense,'_ I said with a groan.

"That's why I tried to join them. I figured if I could position myself around the admins or leaders, I could…" Claire trailed off, looking away, "But that didn't quite work out the way I planned…"

' _Hey,'_ I said rubbing a circle in her back, ' _We'll stop them, okay? Then the police can figure out what their plan was.'_

Claire nodded slowly, turning her attention back to the battle playing out in front of us. A blonde girl wearing a black and red dress tossed a poké ball, withdrawing her unconscious meowstic from the field. A purple-haired teen in a black suit faced her, and the camera flashed on a close-up of his smirking face. His steelix roared on the field victoriously.

"So it is Bence. I thought it might be," Claire mumbled, never taking her eyes off the screen. "That's Serena," she said to me, pointing to the blonde girl. "Three years ago she and Calem brought down Team Flare practically by themselves," she said.

I looked back at the girl with renewed awe. She couldn't be much older than Claire. Maybe eighteen or nineteen?

"She's being acting as Malva's replacement for a couple years now while the League tries to decided who the next permanent member will be," Claire continued to explain.

"Go, Chesnaught!" Serena called, releasing her starter onto the field.

Claire hummed in approval, mumbling something about STAB and vaporeon. Green HP bars flashed on the screen, superimposed by editing software for the purpose of providing a visual for the audience

"I wonder if his electrode has Self-Destruct…"

"It does," said Pryce, reemerging from the hallway with a grin on his face. He walked over to the couch. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to the space to Claire's left.

"Of course, I mean it's your house," Claire mumbled in embarrassment, scooting closer to me to make room for him. He sunk down onto the couch, relaxing back.

"Do you know who they're going to pick to replace Serena?" Claire asked him with interest.

Pryce sighed in the way only old men can. "That's difficult to say," he finally said.

"I think they should just let Serena stay on as a permanent member, especially after Malva was forced to step down," Claire said.

"Serena, wonderful trainer though she may be, doesn't have the type specialty required to be an elite four member," he said with a frown.

"Flint barely had a fire-type specialty," Claire pointed out.

"But then the League gave him a little push, and now his whole team is made up of primary or secondary fire-types," Pryce countered. "Besides, being an elite four member is much more than being a good trainer, and they've been considering promoting a gym leader to that position."

Claire's eyes widened. "Who?" she gasped. "Olympia?"

Pryce nodded, "or Valerie. Wulfric would refuse if they asked. He's happy in Snowbelle," he said. "Haven't seen him since all the ice-type leaders got together for the premiere of the last Brycen-Man movie. Lorelei and Glacia looked lovely. You should've seen them," he said fondly.

Claire and Pryce spent the rest of the day happily chatting about the League and battle strategy. Hilton snoozed to my right and I drifted between watching Ace Trainer Bence take on the League and dozing off.

Sometime after the sun had set, Sheila called us into the kitchen for dinner. Expecting some sort of home-cooked meal, I was surprised when boxes of takeout stood stacked on the kitchen table. Still, I didn't complain.

Pryce and Claire continued their discussion all throughout dinner, while Hilton remained mostly silent, slowly sipping at his egg drop soup. After dinner, I helped Hilton to his room before heading to mine and Claire's. My trainer decided to stay up with Pryce and watch the rest of the match. Apparently, Bence had a chance of making it all the way to Diantha. I crawled onto the foot of the bed, sprawling myself out diagonally. Claire would have to figure out how to squeeze in later. That's what she gets for staying up late. I reached to the nightstand and flicked the lamp off.

(***)

A slight stirring woke me in the middle of the night. I blinked sleepily, looking around the room. It must've been Claire coming to bed. I reached my arm out, placing it on the mattress in an attempt to push myself up. I jumped as my arm collided with something. I whipped around, falling off the bed in the process.

The lump started, and Claire raised a tired head from the pillows. "What is it Noël?" she asked, voice rough from sleep.

' _Nothi—'_ the words died as my chest fin began to vibrate. ' _Claire, watch out!'_ I shouted diving towards her and knocking her off the mattress and pinning her to the floor.

The window erupted over our heads, sending glass shrapnel raining down on us. A purple ray of light shot through the window, embedding itself in the opposite wall.

I jumped off of Claire, careful to stay below the window. Claire pushed herself up, coughing. She peeked her head above the window's broken edge before slipping back beneath the wall.

"It's Reliance," she hissed. "And there are lots of them!"

Another Psybeam rocketed through the window where Claire's head had just been.

"We've got to team up with Hilton, Drifblim, and Pryce," she said, crawling towards me as shards of glass bounced off of her. "It's the only chance we've got!" I nodded, helping her up so we stood pressed in the corner, still out of view of the window.

A harsh, nasally voice pierced the night. "Alright, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," it shouted, "so why don't you just come outside and say hi to a few old friends, Claire!"

"Arceus, that's Everett!" she hissed. "My old supervisor. This isn't good."

' _Run for the door on three?'_ I asked, and she nodded, preparing herself.

' _1…'_

"You know it kinda hurt when you just walked out on us like that Claire. You gotta give us our two weeks," the man, assumedly Everett, said. He sounded a bit too happy for my taste.

' _2…'_

"You of all people know how strong Reliance is Claire. We always get what we want, and this time there's no gym leader to save you! We made sure that old man wouldn't interfere with our plans again!" Everett said with a laugh.

' _3!_ ' I shouted, bolting for the door. I threw it open and dove into the hallway as another Psybeam shot at us from the window. The door exploded into a spray of splinters.

"Run!" Claire shouted, sprinting down the dark hallway in front of me.

I shot a glance at a window as we ran past, and my stomach clenched.

' _They've got the house surrounded!'_ I called to her.

Claire's only acknowledgment was to run faster. She reached the end of the hall and threw open Hilton's door, freezing.

I slid in behind her, eyes widened. The entire back half of his room was rubble. Hilton stood on the outside lawn amidst the debris, surrounded by jeering Reliance grunts. Drifblim tried to fend them off, but every time he started to attack, another pokémon would hit him from behind.

I lengthened my elbow blades, focusing my power and letting it collect there. My arms began to glow purple as they grew stronger, drawing the attention of the nearest grunts.

"Hey, over there!" one shouted. Cold hands grasped Claire from behind, and a man leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"We always get what we want," he hummed.

Claire jerked away from him, snarling. "Everett," she hissed, glaring at him.

He didn't look anything like the military-equse hit man I expected. Everett had dark skin and only looked to be in his late twenties. His head was half shaved, and the other was dyed a shocking teal that fell into his eyes. I swore I could see a faded tattoo of the old Team Galactic logo peeking out from under his turtleneck.

Everett grinned, setting his eyes alight with a maniacal gleam.

"Imagine my disappointment when I found out one of my loyal subordinates had left the base without permission," he said casually.

Claire glared at him, lip curled in contempt but took a step back none the less. "You left me to die, Everett!" she spat.

"Oh, that's water under the bridge, but I'm afraid we're still going to have to take you back, Claire, and your little charity case too," Everett asked, smile widening as he gestured in Hilton's direction. Claire didn't take the bait. I stepped closer to her grabbing her hand and growling in Everett's direction.

He just laughed at me, and lifted his hand in the air, snapping his fingers. Grunts swarmed up from behind him, passing him to grab hold of Claire and me.

Claire fought against their arms, but it was a futile effort.

Everett smiled at that. "Don't worry, we won't be putting you back in _that_ base. The higher ups have plans fo—"A jet of blue flames struck Everett in the back, sending him tumbling forwards.

A streak of blue flashed by, barreling past us with such force that it knocked us and most of the Reliance grunts off our feet. My chest vibrated, and I locked one arm around Claire, thrusting the other into the air.

Lawrence, in pokémon form, swooped around grabbing me by the arm and threw me onto his back. I shouted, nearly dropping Claire and falling off.

' _Hold on_ ,' Lawrence gritted, circling above the chaos. He inhaled deeply, and a series of white sparks collected around his mouth, amassing into a glowing white ball. He shot out a thick beam of blinding fuchsia light, pushing the grunts that surrounded Hilton backward. Hilton ran up to Drifblim, holding his arms up. Drifblim wrapped her tails around Hilton's arms, lifting him into the sky. The other grunts started trying to attack us from the ground, shouting angrily.

Lawrence dodged a spray of acid and launched another Luster Purge to buy Drifblim enough time to reach our altitude.

Lawrence placed the flat of his head against Drifblim's bulbous cranium, and took off, pushing the large pokémon in front of him. I clung to both Claire and Lawrence, shutting my eyes as the wind tried to pull us off. My ears popped as Lawrence ascended and the air got colder. All at once I felt him slow to a near stop. He breathed heavily, pulling his head away from Drifblim, allowing the ghost-type to float freely.

"Are you alright, Lawrence? I asked, watching him with concern.

He turned back to me with tired eyes, still panting. ' _When I told you I could only carry one person, it was the truth, I'm not sure how far I can take you_ ,' he admitted.

' _Anywhere but Mahogany Town,'_ I said with a groan. ' _Are you alright Claire?'_ I asked, turning my attention to her. She blinked slowly, shivering.

"I think so," she said. "What happened to Pryce?" she asked quietly.

' _I didn't sense anyone else in the house,'_ Lawrence said, _'Though_ _I doubt Reliance would kill him. He'd be more valuable as a hostage_ ,' he added, matching Drifblim's pace at a gentle glide.

' _Are you alright, Hilton?'_ I asked, craned my neck to see him over Latios's wings.

Cradled between Drifblim's tails, he looked pale as death and positively ill. His backpacked hung over one shoulder, swinging with Drifblim's even up and down movements.

' _How in the world did you manage to grab your backpack?'_ I asked amazed.

"When I went for Drifblim's poké ball," he managed, looking like he was about to vomit.

"Where are we going?" Claire asked Lawrence, "Can we go back and save Pryce?" she asked hopefully.

Lawrence twisted his head to look back at her with a grim expression. _'I may be a legendary, but I can't fight off all those grunts while having to save the three of you and Pryce. He's a gym leader. He will be fine,'_ Lawrence grumbled, looking back ahead.

We drifted above Johto. Below us, nestled within the sloping mountain I could see little pinpricks of light from little houses hidden in the trees. The mountain range sharpened behind us, and dark clouds brewed above the jagged peaks. I saw a lightning strike and my eyes widened, glad Lawrence wasn't taking us that way. To our left, the land flattened out, and I could distinguish even more towns on the horizon. Even more dark clouds brewed in that direction. He heard Claire gasp.

"Lawrence, is that a tornado?" she asked, pointing towards the western storm.

' _Tornados,'_ he corrected, still flying on.

"I-I didn't know Johto had many of those," she stuttered.

' _They don't,'_ he said grimly. _'Reliance's pursuit of legendary pokémon is beginning to affect the world's balance. I can feel in the air and in the ground. Something is shifting, he said. They must be stopped soon, or we may be facing something much worse than Reliance.'_

' _Worse than Reliance?'_ I asked with a laugh, the sounded died on my lips as I realized he wasn't joking. Swallowing hard, I averted my eyes. Silence fell, as the whistle of the wind and distant thunder consumed anything we might say. Above us the moon shone faintly, giving us enough light to see by.

"You never answered my question," Claire finally said. "Where are you taking us?"

' _Hoenn,'_ he said after a pause.

I started at that. _'I thought you just said you didn't know how far you could make it with both of us on your back!'_ I protested, _'What makes you think you can make it across and entire ocean without drowning us?'_

' _Do I have a choice,'_ he growled. _'We can make it to Slateport by mid-morning if the wind is on our side,'_ he said, scowling and staring straight ahead.

Claire frowned at that.

' _Is the wind on our side?'_ I asked.

' _No.'_


	31. Heads

**A/N:** Because of my class schedule this quarter, Monday updates are getting tricky, so I think I'll update on Fridays from now on.

 **Chapter 31: Heads**

 **(***)**

' _Too bad Staraptor isn't here,'_ I mused. _'Then Lawrence would only have to carry one person and we'd be there by now.'_

I felt Lawrence's chest cavity vibrate beneath me as he growled. _'Does that mean you volunteer to get off early?'_ he asked, tilting ever so slightly, causing me to almost fall into the turquoise water twenty feet below.

' _Not funny!'_ I yelped, as he righted himself, butterflies still attacking my stomach.

Claire wiped the sweat off her brow and tried to shield herself from the boiling sun. "Well, we must be close to Hoenn if it's this hot out," she said mumbled.

' _Isn't it wonderful,'_ Lawrence hummed, swooping low and letting the spray of the water cool us off. ' _Much better than that eternal winter you have in Sinnoh,'_ he said, and I saw the edge of his smile.

I rolled my eyes. Seeing him in such a good mood was rare, and I sure wasn't going to spoil it.

The sound of chimes filled the air, and Lawrence flew back upwards to match heights with Drifblim. Hilton looked at his singing cross-transceiver curiously.

"It's Ms. Allen," he said, looking over to Claire, "Should I answer it?"

Claire shrugged. "It's your C-Gear anyways. You don't have to ask me."

With a nod, he pressed 'accept'.

"Hilton! I'm so glad you're okay! You didn't answer my calls earlier and I thought…" Ms. Allen's voice trailed off.

"Yeah, we're okay thanks to Lawrence," Hilton said, with a tired but sincere smile.

"Oh, that's good to know," she said with a sigh of relief. "I wasn't sure if that latios was still with you or not. My Independence agents got to Pryce's house this morning and found it in ruins. They managed to save Pryce and his wife, but they couldn't find any sign of you. I'll admit I assumed the worst," she said.

"It was a close call, but we made it out. Oh, yeah! Did you ever find any news on your niece?" Hilton asked hopefully. The line went silent for a moment.

After a pause, she sighed. "No."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" Hilton apologized quickly.

"It's fine," she said. "So where are you guys headed now? Hopefully somewhere safe and away from all this Reliance madness?" she asked.

"We're just heading to Slateport for a little R&R. These last few days have been pretty stressful," Hilton admitted.

She laughed at that, a warm pleasant sound. "Alright, well just be safe, okay? Reliance could still be up for their old tricks. Oh, and promise me you'll see a doctor," she said with concern.

Hilton frowned at that, looking away until his continence brightened. "Hey, since we'll be in Hoenn, we might be able to visit the Poké Festival and see you!" he said with excitement.

"I look forward to it," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Stay safe, Hilton."

"Bye, Ms. Allen!" Hilton said, waving to the little screen on his C-Gear. "Oh, and you look really nice in black!" he added quickly. She laughed and hung up, but the sound still lingered in the air. He lowered his wrist and stared up at us, grinning.

"Maybe she can get us free tickets to the Poké Festival," he said, smile widening.

' _Arceus, you're right!'_ I said. ' _Maybe even VIP tickets,'_ I whispered. That would be a week to remember. I looked over to Claire only to find her staring at her hands with a dissatisfied look on her face.

"Was it really a good idea to tell her where we were going?" Claire said cautiously. Hilton scowled at that.

"You're just saying that because you've never met her in person. She's saved you once and me twice! She's the head of Independence too! Besides, I didn't tell her the real reason we were going to Slateport," he protested.

"I suppose you're right," she said, still sounding unconvinced. "Having an ally in such a high place would be useful. What do you think of her Noël?"

I shrugged. ' _She just seems like a sweet old lady to me.'_

Hilton laughed at that. "Noël, she's only in her fifties."

I shrugged. ' _I can't help that all humans look the same.'_

"She's like the sweet aunt-slash-grandma I never had," Hilton said, folding his hands behind his head with a contented smile, and leaning back into the sun.

I hummed in agreement, scanning the horizon for any signs of Hoenn.


	32. Tales

**Chapter 32: Tales**

 **(***)**

Cenric woke up, head throbbing. His eyes watered as he took in his bright surroundings. This wasn't a Reliance base; it was a hotel. For a moment he thought it'd all been a bad dream, but then reality came flooding back to him. It was a hotel, but the window had been boarded up and the door was perpetually locked. Even so, he'd spent hours yesterday evening trying to find a way out before his body collapsed on him. It was useless. Even if he managed to escape, they'd catch him like they always did.

Cenric tried to push himself out of bed but found his arms incapable of supporting any of his weight. He fell back into the plush comforter. Hilton's words ran through his mind.

" _I won't let any of us get recaptured for the off chance that Cenric got away."_

Hilton wouldn't risk getting recaptured for him.

Cenric clenched his fists. He'd risked so much for them and even gave up his one chance of freedom, but when their roles reversed… He slammed his fist down on the mattress again, feeling burning tears threatened to fall again. He growled at himself.

No. He was done with crying.

Hilton, Noël, and Lawrence had all given up on him. Just like his pokémon. Just like his family. No one was coming for him. He would have to get out of this mess alone.

The door clicked open softly. Cenric didn't even bother to see who it was. It didn't really matter. Alimer or the Commander. It ended the same either way.

A cold hand brushed his shoulder. Cenric flinched away from it, glare up at its owner. It was Cyan this time.

"Don't touch me," Cenric hissed, turning away from her. "Go back to your perfect little solider routine. It's all you know how to do anyways," he spat. "You know, in some ways, I actually prefer the Commander to you, do you know why?" he asked rounding on her. "Because at least she's in control of her life. You just stand around and let things happen to you."

Cyan took a step backward, looking slightly stunned at his reaction.

Cenric laughed coldly. "Oh, don't you dare pretend to grow a heart now. It's too late for that. Besides, even if you did, it wouldn't change anything," he said, lowering his voice as he felt the burst of strength his anger had granted him leave. "Just go," he mumbled, voice hoarse as he covered his eyes with his forearm.

The door clicked again, and Cenric lifted his arm slightly to watch her leave but found instead a tall, black-clad figure stood in the doorway. He groaned, though he couldn't tell if it was outwardly or inwardly.

The Commander strode in and Cyan rushed past her to leave. The taller woman watched her vanish out the door.

"She knows her place," she said with a soft, soulless grin.

Cenric didn't respond. He honestly didn't care about Cyan anymore. He didn't care about anything.

The Commander seated herself on Cenric's bed by where he laid. He refused to make eye contact with her, staring intently at the ugly flower mural on the wall across from him.

"My guards told me what happened at the warehouse," she said casually.

Cenric actually smirked at that. Did they mention how he managed to escape four of her best grunts just by forcing a vomit and faking a cough? Of course, he knew better by now than to say that aloud.

"They abandoned you, Cenric," she said trailing a wrinkled hand up his arm. He jerked away with a snarl of disgust, and her eyes lit up. He cursed. He'd let her draw out a reaction. He let her win.

"Hilton, Claire, and even that gallade, all decided you weren't worth it. Just like your family and pokémon," she said, faking sympathy. The way her words mirrored his own thoughts from just moments ago was the harshest blow she could've delivered and sent him reeling.

"They had to leave or else they'd be captured too," Cenric found himself saying despite himself, trying desperately to create excuses more for himself than her.

"Is that so?" she asked, with a Cheshire-grin stretching across her face. "Why don't we make a bet, Cenric?" she said.

Cenric laughed at that. "What, and if I win I go free? Give me a break," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Cenric, your lack of faith hurts me deeply," she said, frowning, but her eyes didn't show any sadness. "If Hilton is trying to save you, I'll let you free. If he's not, nothing will happen," she said simply.

"Nothing?" Cenric asked, with one raised eyebrow. "No 'stop trying to escape' condition or whatever?"

She shook her head. "The satisfaction of being right is enough of a reward for me," she said, grinning. "You have nothing to lose," she said.

Cenric snorted. "How stupid do you think I am? You really think I'll believe anything you say?"

The commander shrugged. "It's true, but again Cenric, what do you have to lose?"

"Time. Dignity," Cenric mumbled, trying to ignore her and focus on the flower mural.

The Commander looked up to the security camera in the corner, nodding once. Within moments, Reliance grunts burst in.

Cenric eyed them nervously. "What now? Getting more meatheads to do your dirty work?" he asked, trying to sound unconcerned.

"Restrain him," she said simply.

"Hey, wha-!" Cenric started, but the grunts rushed over to the bed, dragging him off and pinning him in place with an iron grip on his upper arms. "Got bored of your old games already?" Cenric spat, glaring at the Commander. She slipped off the bed, circling him like a vulture.

"Our bet, Cenric," she continued smoothly, whispering into his ear from behind. Cenric winced, trying to jerk away. The Commander withdrew to resume circling, this time stopping in front of him. "I can't have you interfering with the results. That would be cheating," she said, running a knuckle across his jaw line. Cenric tried to bite her hand, but a guard knocked the back of his head before she could.

She withdrew her hand with a chilling laugh. "Make sure he can't speak," she said to her grunts. Large hands wrapped around Cenric's face, pinning his jaw closed, and almost suffocating him. He managed shallow breathes through his nose, feeling panic rise in his throat.

She wouldn't kill him, right? If she wanted to she would have done it already, right?

"Relax, Cenric," the woman said brushing his shoulder. "In a few minutes, you could be a free man," she said, and reached into the neck of her uniform, grabbing a string and pulling a Holo Caster from beneath the pressed blouse. After pressing several buttons, the Holo Caster began to ring quietly. Cenric's eyes widened. What? She had his number? That was impossible.

The Commander held her Holo Caster low, So Cenric could see the screen, but because of the way she had it angled, the camera and whoever was on the receiving end wouldn't be able to see Cenric or the guards restraining him. All at once the Commander's countenance softened. It was as if all the hard lines permanently etched into her face by the constant look of disapproval had never been. She removed the black hat with the Reliance insignia blazoned on it, tossing it onto a nearby chair. The Holo Caster clicked as someone picked up, and an image flashed onto the screen

Even several feet away, Cenric recognized Hilton's distorted features.

"Hilton! I'm so glad you're okay!" the Commander began, with a voice and expression that seem so genuine that Cenric almost missed the slight stiffness in her smile. The woman continued, "You didn't answer my calls earlier and I thought…" she trailed off. Thought what?

"Yeah, we're okay thanks to Lawrence," Hilton said, and Cenric could hear the smile in his voice. Lawrence saved them? Why hadn't Lawrence saved him too?

"Oh, that's good to know," the Commander said with a fake sigh of relief. "I wasn't sure if that latios was still with you or not." Cenric lunged forward. The idiot was telling her everything! Didn't he realized who he was talking too‽ The Commander's eyes flicked up to watched Cenric struggle against his guards for a moment, before returning to the screen.

"My Independence agents got to Pryce's house this morning and found it in ruins. They managed to save Pryce and his wife, but they couldn't find any sign of you. I'll admit I assumed the worst," she said, and Cenric recognized that fake-sympathetic tone and it made him nauseous.

"It was a close call, but we made it out. Oh, yeah! Did you ever find any news on your niece?" came Hilton's mechanical voice.

The Commander paused at that, surprised by that new line of questioning. Cenric grinned at that. She'd been caught in a lie! If Hilton just kept asking questions…

The Commander closed her eyes, turning away from the screen. "No," she said at last, with a shallow sigh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" Hilton immediately began. That idiot, he almost had her!

"It's fine," she said with a warm smile. "So where are you guys headed now? Hopefully somewhere safe and away from all this Reliance madness?" she asked, glancing up at Cenric with a knowing look. This was it! He'd doubt she'd let him go, but if there was even a sliver of a chance...

"We're just heading to Slateport for a little R&R. These last few days have been pretty stressful," Hilton said with a laugh that broke into static.

Cenric's heart dropped, and he felt numb.

Of course he knew he wasn't going to escape because of some bet…

But that they were really going on a vacation when they knew Reliance still had him captured?

And to Slateport of all places…

He felt hot and sweaty, but chills clawed at his arms.

He wanted to vomit.

The Commander laughed, but it wasn't at Hilton's commentary.

She was laughing at Cenric.

Clearing the mirth from her eyes, she refocused on Hilton, trying to control the smile playing with the corner of her lips. "Alright, well just be safe, okay? Reliance could still be up for their old tricks. Oh, and promise me you'll see a doctor," she said, nodding with superficial concern.

Hilton made a gesture in agreement, but then his face stretched into a smile. "Hey, since we'll be in Hoenn, we might be able to visit the Poké Festival and see you!" he said.

The Commander smiled back. Arceus, couldn't he see the look in her eye! It was like watching a lion hunting a lamb! "I look forward to it," she said in a sickeningly saccharine voice. "Stay safe, Hilton," she said, waving at the screen

"Bye, Ms. Allen!" Hilton said, waving back. "Oh, and you look really nice in black!" he managed before hanging up. The Commander laughed, flicking the off button. She laughed, letting the cold sound fill the room.

"Let him speak boys, I'm sure he's got some weak validation for his would-be friends," she said, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. "God, that boy is an idiot. He almost makes Cyan look smart," she said, breaking out into renewed laughter at that.

Cenric watched her, eye wide, mouth agape.

"He called you Ms. Allen," he mumbled, mind working furiously. "Your name is Christine Allen."

"Arceus," he breathed as the reality struck him. He legs lost the ability to bear his weight, and he sunk to his knees, the iron hands around his arms the only thing keeping him upright.

"Let him go, boys, I think Mr. Cenric has had quite enough adventure today. You're dismissed," the Commander said. The guards released the grip, allowing Cenric to collapse the rest of the way. They stepped over his tangled legs on their way out.

The Commander crouched down to see eye to eye with him, maniac grin still plastered on her face.

Cenric watched her, struck mute and dumb.

"There is no Independence," he finally whispered, staring straight into her eyes.

He needed her to laugh him off. Tell him that the days locked inside locked rooms were getting to him. That he was finally going mad.

The Commander she smiled warmly and caressed his face.

Cenric didn't even have enough control over himself to shy away from her touch.

"No, Cenric," she whispered.

"There is no Reliance."

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** Well, there it is, and with that, the series of quick POV changes comes to a close. Hopefully the whiplash wasn't too terrible. Ah, and the reason Cenric didn't recognize the Commander as Ms. Allen originally is because he never really knew what the Independence head looked like. When Independence rose to power he was already on his pokémon journey, and while he worked for Reliance he had zero media access. He did, however, hear her name tossed around, especially in Castelia. Anyways, thoughts on the events of this chapter? Did you fall for Ms. Allen's ruse or was she always a little too good to be true? Thoughts on Cenric's plight? Did Hilton and co make the right choice leaving Johto without him?


	33. Thicker Than Water

**Chapter 33: Thicker Than Water**

 **(***)**

I watched the port city approach on the horizon. God, it would be nice to be on solid ground again. I yawned, stretching out my arms. These long trips with Lawrence always made my limbs sore. Neither I nor Claire had been able to sleep last night for fear of falling of Lawrence in our sleep.

Lawrence shot forth with a burst of speed. Shouting, I grabbed a hold of his neck with Claire.

' _Warn us before you do that!'_ I said, wind howling in my ears. Lawrence swooped low, inches above the white-capped waves. He arced upwards again as we neared the city. The waves broke on rocks that rested in the cerulean waters. Small islands of white sand spotted the ocean, and as we neared, I was amazed to see beach chairs and brightly colored umbrellas marking them. Humans swam with their pokémon, and to our left a wailmer breached, sending a jet of water twenty feet into the air.

Lawrence dodged it with what almost sounded like a laugh. We flew over the white beach, covered in beach towels, tourists, and palm trees. I gaped at the spectacle. So this was what the tropics felt like? A flock of wingull joined up with us, and Lawrence slowed to match their pace.

' _Lawrence, this is amazing!'_ I cried, sitting up and splaying my arms wide like a bird, letting the warm summer air rush over me. The wingull cheered in amusement. The air smelled like salt and sunscreen and even hamburgers on the grill. Lawrence wove between a row of flamboyant kites, to the delight of the screaming children on the beach.

Lawrence swooped down again, soaring over the first of the buildings that lined the shore. I saw a large market in the distance, marked by the brightly-colored awnings. We passed over an expansive shipyard, filled with sailboats, speedboats, and even a cruise ship.

"Can you set us down near the battle tent?" Claire shouted above the roar of the wind and waves. "It's by—"

' _The contest hall,'_ Lawrence said easily, dipping ever so slightly to the right, and descending towards the elaborate buildings in gentle circles. I looked up, spotting a purple dot on the horizon.

' _Guys, I think we left Hilton and Drifblim behind,'_ I said, squinting at the dot.

' _They'll catch up_ ,' Lawrence assured me, and I didn't miss the hint of amusement in his voice. Lawrence landed behind the battle tent, away from the public eye. I slid off his smooth back, and Claire followed close behind.

"I…" began Claire, but her expression clouded. "I-I know some people here," she said with a tired sigh. "They'd let us stay with them," she said.

' _Excellent,'_ Lawrence said and transformed back into a human with a burst of light.

' _They're still up there,'_ I said, looking up at the Hilton spec, and shielding my eyes from the light.

"In what portion of Slateport do your friends reside?" Lawrence asked Claire as we walked out of the battle tent's shadow and around the side of the building.

Claire stepped onto the sidewalk, looking both ways down the street. "Nearby," she mumbled, still trying to gather her bearings. "I'm going to go grab a map," she said, gesturing to the brochure cart near the battle tent's sliding doors.

I nodded, watching her go before returning my attention to the city sprawled around us. That land was extraordinarily flat due to being at sea level, and vibrant green grass covered any area that wasn't being occupied by multi-story resorts or beach houses. I could even see a sliver of the ocean from between the buildings, swearing I could still hear its roar. It almost felt like I'd been here before in a pleasant dream.

I froze, scanning the cityscape again. My eyes widened, and I rounded on Lawrence.

Not a dream. A nightmare.

"This is the city from my vision!" I snarled, approaching him. The relaxed grin he'd been wearing since we arrived slipped off his face, he appraised me like a parent would with a two year old throwing a tantrum.

"And to think, I thought you actually cared about anything besides your little personal war on Reliance!" I hissed, stabbing him in the chest with an accusing index finger. "You knew this was the city in my vision from Johto!" I spat.

He removed my finger from his chest, eyes growing cold. "I did not," he said, "when your human mentioned Hoenn, I considered the possibility and took us here," he said, keeping his eyes locked with mine.

"You knew I would've fought you if you told us," I hissed. I shouldn't have been surprised by this level of underhandedness from him.

He raised a thin eyebrow in skepticism. "Noël, do you truly believe I care?"

"I've been scared of you for too long. This ends now!" I shouted, lunging at him, trying to tear that condescending, detached look off his face! Arms locked around my chest, heaving me back before I could leave my mark on his flawless skin.

"Noël, what's gotten into you!" Claire cried, still restraining me from behind. I ignored her.

"Hilton is going to die because of you!" I shouted, trying to struggle out of Claire's arms.

Lawrence's eyes narrowed at that, and his lip curled. "Have you seen him? The way he can't keep food down? His coughing? How pale he looks these days‽ He's already dying, Noël!" Lawrence shouted.

His truth hit me like a kick to the chest, leaving me gasping for air.

"H-he'll be fine," I managed, "once we stop Reliance we can—"

"Grow up, will you for once!" Lawrence shouted, throwing his hands into the air. "He's going to die either way. We might as well-!"

I slapped him across the cheek. Lawrence stumbled backward, more out of surprise than from the force of the blow. He regarded me with shock for a moment before his eyes hardened, and his face grew cold.

"Your "save everyone" mentality will just get you killed one of these days, and I refuse to be there when that happens," he said, voice laden with contempt.

Before I could respond, he'd already transformed back into a pokémon.

"Lawrence, wait!" Claire shouted, but he shot into the sky with a bang, sending us flying backward at the force of the air.

Claire caught me, helping me steady myself.

"What in the world was that about?" she demanded, planting her hands on her hips. "I caught Lawrence's end of the conversation, but you weren't speaking telepathically," she said, softening her tone.

I watched her with hesitation then, with a sigh, began.

' _Several days ago, I had a vision. In it, I saw a city like this, and in one flash Hilton looked injured, but then in the next he looked…dead.'_ I finally managed. Claire's eyes widened, but she let me continue.

' _When I told Lawrence he wanted to go to the nearest port city, saying it was a lead. I said no, and then he said time was linear and I was dumb or something, and then he got angry and flew off while Hilton and I stayed in Mahogany Town. Anyways, the reason he took us to Slateport was because—'_

"He thinks it might be the city from your vision, and we might find a lead on Reliance," Claire completed, nodding grimly.

' _So what do we do?'_ I asked, ' _We can't stay here or else…'_ I couldn't bring myself to complete the statement.

Claire crossed her arms, beginning to pace. Jovial shouting broke her concentration she looked up to see Hilton and Drifblim finally arriving.

"You left us behind!" Hilton said, smiling. Drifblim floated to the ground, gently setting Hilton on the sidewalk before unwrapping her tails.

"Thanks, buddy, I know that was hard for you," Hilton said earnestly, staring into the soulless eyes of his only pokémon. "Take a nice long rest, okay?" he said, pulling Drifblim's poké ball out of his bag and withdrawing her. He slipped it back around his neck and pushed himself off the sidewalk. After reaching into his bag and fastening his mask in place, he turned to us.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" he asked, voice muffled. "Where's Lawrence?" he asked, looking around.

' _He left,'_ I said bitterly, clenching my fists.

"What‽ Again? You're kidding," Hilton exclaimed.

Claire nodded slowly. "W-we have some things we need to discuss with you," she said slowly. Hilton's shoulders tensed.

"What is it?" he asked, anxiety tinting his voice.

A group of teenagers in bathing suits passed us, laughing loudly.

"Hey, dude, nice mask!" shouted one of the boys to Hilton. Claire glared at them, which only made them laugh harder. They continued down the street ahead of us.

"Not here," Claire said quietly. "Hilton, can I borrow your C-Gear? I need to make a call," she said, frowning.

"Yeah, sure," Hilton said, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice. He unstrapped the device from his wrist, handing it to Claire. She looked around, zoning in on the alley between the battle tent and the nearby restaurant.

"Stay here," she said to us, walking over to the alley.

Hilton and I watched as she dialed a number and began to pace.

"Can't be good if she's pacing," Hilton mumbled, and I nodded in agreement. I saw Claire cringe and start to massage her temples. I contemplated ignoring her directions and going over to her, but at the last moment she ended the call and walked back over to us.

"Who was that?" Hilton couldn't help asking.

All that came out of Claire was an irritated grumble. Claire handed the device back to him, and he strapped it back on his wrist.

Claire crossed her arms and started down the street. "It's this way," she called back to us. I looked over to Hilton and we both shrugged in unison before jogging after her. We passed the nearby restaurant, and the families with beach towels strung over their shoulders watched us passs from the shade of the patio, munching on shish-kebabs and drinking fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them.

"Oh," Hilton suddenly exclaimed, stopping.

Claire groaned, slowly turning around. "Don't tell me you forgot something in Johto because I don't think Lawrence is coming back," she said.

I watched Hilton's ears go pink as he shuffled in embarrassment. "Well, kinda," he admitted. "I forgot about my date," he said, gesturing to his vibrating C-Gear.

"Arceus, that woman is persistent," said Claire, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're not going to answer, are you?" Claire asked looking up.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked, blinking, finger hovering over the 'accept call' button. "I should at least tell her I won't be in Johto for a bit," he said.

Claire sighed. "Hilton, Staci could work for Reliance. It would explain how they kept finding you," she said.

"That's ridiculous, and you know it," he said, voice growing irritated. "Or is it that impossible to believe a girl might actually like me back for once?" he asked with an accusatory tone.

Claire pursed her lips, eye narrowing. "If she's not part of Reliance, she'll still be in Mahogany Town when this is over," Claire said.

Hilton rolled his eyes, looking down in dismay as his C-Gear stopped ringing. "Unbelievable," he muttered as we began to walk again.

We proceeded down the street in silence, passing more restaurants, and several swimsuit shops. One or two zealous shopkeepers tried to tempt us in with promises of souvenirs galore.

Claire was just in the middle of explaining to one that we didn't need any fridge magnets because we didn't own fridges when a voice called out from behind.

"Claire? Claire is that you‽" shouted a voice. Claire cringed, slowly turning around. A pair of adults jogged towards us, wearing wide smiles on their tanned faces. The man held an inner tube under his arm, while the woman had a large cooler strung over her shoulder.

"Oh, I was hoping we'd make it home before you!" said the woman, "But this is even better!" she gushed.

The man pushed his sunglasses up into his chocolate hair. "It's been too long!" he said leaning in for a hug, and the woman followed, getting Claire slightly damp with her tangle of dripping black hair.

"Sage. Elliot," Claire managed stiffly.

Elliot glanced over Claire's shoulder to stare at me and Hilton.

"Hey, is that the ralts we heard about?" he asked. "Wow, you sure must've trained hard."

"What happened to your clothes?" Sage asked, aghast. Pulling at the baggy men's polo Claire wore. "It looks like you raided the lost and found," she said.

I smirked at that. It wasn't far from the truth.

"Come on, let's show you our place," Elliot said, locking arms with her. Sage bounded up, clinging to Claire's remaining arm. Together they practically dragged her down the street. I slowed, allowing Hilton to catch up.

' _Who are they?'_ I asked as we walked after them.

Hilton shrugged. "I dunno. They look a little familiar. Maybe they're friends of the family?"

I regarded them with curiosity. _'Claire never mentioned them to me,'_ I said.

Several minutes of following the vivacious pair brought us to a beige apartment complex.

"Ooh, you're going to love our apartment! You can even see the ocean!" Sage said, dragging Claire up a set of stairs. They brought us to a room on the third floor, and Elliot practically kicked his own door down.

"And here we are," he said, releasing Claire's arm to spin around the room. "Casa de-!" Claire cut him off.

"Can I use the bathroom?" she grumbled.

Sage laughed, "It's down the hall, last door to your right," she said, pointing past the kitchen.

Claire practically jogged away from the duo, leaving them alone with us. Immediately they rounded on us.

They began to circle Hilton, causing him to stiffen.

"Green hair," Elliot murmured.

"Baggy clothes," Sage added, looking up at the man. "What do you think, bro?"

Elliot laughed, giving Hilton a light punch on the shoulder. "Arceus, Hilton you haven't changed since you were a toddler. I didn't recognize you with that mask on at first," he said.

"I thought you and Claire didn't get along too well," Sage said with a frown, regarding Hilton with her arms crossed.

"What are you talking about? He used to follow her like a puppy around town," Elliot said, sinking into an armchair.

"Hey, don't get the chair wet," Sage snapped, and Elliot pushed himself back up with an eye roll. "Okay, _mom_."

"I don't mean to sound rude," Hilton started. "But who are you people?"

"He doesn't even remember us?" Elliot said, "I'm hurt deeply, Hilton," he said looking aside dramatically.

"Oh, stop!" Sage chided. "He was little back then," she said.

"Well," Elliot started, "I am the oldest of Claire's siblings,"

"By seven minutes," Sage interrupted, glaring at him.

"Okay, I am the oldest of Claire's siblings by seven minutes, and Sage is my twin sister," Elliot said, giving a little bow.

"Wait, I _do_ remember you! Claire was always watching your battles on TV!" Hilton exclaimed. "That was forever ago. So you came here to take on the Hoenn League?" he asked with excitement.

Sage and Elliot's smiles fell at that. Sage shifted uncomfortably, and Elliot scratched the back of his head.

Claire emerged from the hall, eyeing her siblings suspiciously.

"Alright," Sage said, clapping her hands and looking around. "Why don't we all get cleaned up, and then I'll make us some lunch?" she said.

"By 'make' she means ordering pizza," Elliot whispered, earning him an elbow to the ribs from Sage.

"Whatever, Elliot. Show Hilton to your shower," Sage said, rolling her eyes.

"Mine? Why can't he use yours?" Elliot whined.

"Because our baby sister is going to be using it, that's why," she said, planting her hands on her hips.

"Curse you and your logic, woman," Elliot said, shaking his fist in the air. I grinned. Claire's siblings weren't like her at all.

"But first…" Elliot said, casually backing up to stand next to Hilton.

"Don't-!" Claire started, but Elliot whipped around to pull Hilton's mask off his face.

"Ah ha-!" Elliot dropped the mask.

Sage gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.

" _Arceus_ ," was all Elliot could manage, regarding Hilton's mutation with wide eyes. Hilton shrunk under their gaze.

"We have a lot to talk about," mumbled Claire.

"You're telling me," said Elliot, unable to take his eyes off Hilton's face.

 **(***)**

About an hour later found us seated around Sage and Elliot's kitchen table, significantly cleaner. Claire, for one, looked even more miserable than before. Sage had tossed Claire's stolen clothes while she showered, forcing Claire to wear something from Sage's wardrobe, which in this case was a tight tank top and shorter shorts than I'd ever seen her wear before. She shifted uncomfortably under her sibling's gazes, avoiding eye contact and staring intently at her pizza.

"Just tell us who did it, and we'll go beat 'em up," Elliot said, throwing a mock punch.

Sage tugged at Claire's leg, trying to get a better look at the scar in question, but Claire jerked away.

Claire glanced up, making eye contact with Hilton for a moment. "It was nothing. Just an accident," she mumbled, looking away.

Elliot sighed, pushing away his plate full of pizza crusts and reclining back in his chair. "So when are you going to tell us the real story?" he asked.

"What story?" Claire muttered, gnawing on a breadstick.

"Don't beat around the bush, you know what we mean," Sage said, offering Claire a smile.

Claire chewed slowly, swallowing the last of her breadstick then clasped her hands. "I guess it started after I beat my sixth gym," she began.

"Congratulations on that, by the way," Sage added.

Elliot hummed in agreement. "Byron sure gave us a run for our money back in the day."

Claire ignored them. "Somewhere around that time, Dialga appeared to me and—"

Elliot's eyes widened and Sage choked on her soda.

"Wait wait wait wait. Like, _Dialga_ Dialga? Like Team Galactic time god Dialga?" Elliot sputtered.

"Yes," Claire growled, "And if you would just let me finish a sentence…"

Elliot held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, point taken."

Claire sighed again, "So Dialga appears and says—no wait, maybe I should start before that…" Claire mumbled. "Okay, so do you remember the whole Team Galactic incident?" she asked.

Elliot whistled at that. "When was that, ten years ago? What were we?" he asked, looking to Sage.

Her nose crinkled and she tilted her head sideways in thought. "Fourteen? Maybe Thirteen?" she said, then looked to Claire. "A better question would be do you remember it? You've would've been around seven," she said with a playful grin.

Claire scowled. "Yes, I remember it," she said. "By borrowing the power of the Lake Guardians, Cyrus created the Red Chain. With it, he was able to summon and temporarily control both Dialga and Palkia. When Giratina appeared and sucked Cyrus into the distortion world, the Red Chain was destroyed and Dialga and Palkia returned to their own dimensions. Anyway, fast-forward seven years. Dialga appears and tells me "when I offer you a choice in the future, take it"," she said.

"When I offer you a choice, take it," Sage repeated. "What in the world does that mean‽"

Claire shrugged. "Honestly, I thought it was all a dream until about a year later. I was training on Mt. Coronet. I help injured hiker down the mountain, and he ends up giving part of the red chain he's collected." Claire said. I nodded in confirmation.

"He told me to take it to the top of the mountain. At first, I think he's crazy, but then I remember what Dialga said, and all of the sudden I start to think that may not have been a crazy dream."

"You went all the way up to Spear Pillar alone?" Elliot asked voice flooded with concern. "Claire, don't you know how dangerous that is? People die trying that," he said, reaching for her hand.

Claire jerked her hand off the table, glaring at him. "Don't you dare pretend to start caring about me now," she mumbled under her breath. Elliot looked to Sage with a stunned expression, but Claire continued before he could. "I tried to go alone, but Hilton decided to tag along."

Hilton flushed at that, suddenly becoming very interested in his cheese pizza.

"We make it half-way up the mountain, and in the middle of the night, I hear this blood-curdling scream. Hilton had gotten himself stuck between some rocks, and that's how I found out he was following me. I tell him to go back down because Drifloon isn't nearly strong enough to face to pokémon higher up, but he still ends up following me. I make it almost to the top when I find him again, but by that point, I can't spare a pokémon to help him back down," Claire said, massaging her temples at the memory.

Hilton shrunk even further in his seat.

"See, I told you she didn't like him," Sage whispered, nudging Elliot.

"So I make it to Spear Pillar, and I tell Hilton to wait at the entrance. When I get to the middle the red chain starts to glow, and Dialga appears, howling and screaming. I thought I was going to die," Claire admitted, "But after I told him he told me, and he calms down. He admits he hasn't made that trip yet, so he commands me to let him observe me," Claire said with a groan.

"So he forces me to use my last poké ball slot on him, so he can travel around without causing a scene," Claire said.

"Arceus, you caught Dialga," Sage whispered, eyes wide and regarding her younger sister with awe.

Claire laughed at that. "If by caught, you mean he made me his human puppet, then yes. It was pretty peaceful after that besides Dialga ordering me around," Claire said, leaving out our trip down the mountain where Hilton had given Claire her scar.

Claire had begged Dialga to turn back time, so she could prevent the wound. She begged him until she cried, but he refused. She spent five weeks cooped up in Celestic Town, taking trips between the Pokémon Center and the hospital. The only thing that could take her mind off of it was training, and it was the one thing she couldn't do. It was miserable. And it was Hilton's fault.

"But later that year is when Reliance starts to grow in response to Independence's popularity," Claire continued. "So somehow Reliance suspects that I have Dialga, and Cyan shows up and tries to recruit me," Claire said.

"How did they know?" Elliot asked while Sage added a "Cyan?"

"I don't know how they found out," Claire said, running a hand through her hand. "And Cyan is one of the Reliance higher ups," Claire said. "She was hunting me down about every other month and asks me to join Reliance, and every time I say no. Then, about two weeks ago, she decides she isn't asking anymore. Oh, and Hilton was there too for this. I try to fight her, but her lackeys show up and paralyze us. The next thing I remember is they had me tied up to a chair, and were trying to figure out what happened to the rest of the Red Chain. I learned that they had Dialga, and could at least subdue him with the portion of the Red Chain they had. Then…" Claire faltered, resting her head in her hands.

"What?" Elliot murmured.

"Claire, you can tell us," Sage said, rubbing her back.

"I joined them," she whispered barely audible. The twins froze.

"W-what?" Sage stammered.

"I thought I could be the hero and figure out their evil plan then report it to the League, but it didn't work out like that," she mumbled, never lifting her head. "I was stupid and naive, and almost got myself killed. And I didn't learn anything," she said bitterly.

"That's not true," Hilton pointed out, "You knew they were experimenting on humans," he added gently.

Claire laughed at that. "Big help that was. The entire world knew about that before I did thanks to you and your friends," she said, saying the last part without malice. "Hilton and Noël's story is more interesting than mine anyways," she said, glancing up at us.

And for the next thirty minutes, Hilton, with my occasional commentary, detailed the events of our lives over the past two weeks. Sage and Elliot made the perfect audience. Gasping at all the right times, and sporadically asking a question or two. I purposefully left out the bit about my most recent psychic vision, and neither I nor Claire mentioned the exact reason Lawrence left.

"Wow," the twins said as Hilton finished his story.

"You guys…that's amazing," Sage said. "I mean amazing as in unbelievable, not in amazing good," she clarified quickly. "I mean, not that it isn't good that you've managed to escape so far!" she said. "Arceus, well, you guys need to stay here for a bit and get some rest. It sounds like you've needed it for a while," she said, and Elliot nodded in agreement.

"How about I go to the store and stock up on groceries and stuff, and Elliot, you can stay here and make sure they're okay," Sage suggested, standing up.

"Sage, I'm seventeen. I don't need a babysitter," Claire grumbled.

Sage started to protest, but then Elliot stood up. "You know what, Claire? You're exactly right. Let's go, sis," he said to Sage, stacking up the empty pizza boxes.

Sage sighed. "Fine, just write down your clothing sizes and we can buy some clothes that aren't covered in stains or are part of a Reliance uniform," she said to Hilton and Claire respectively, slapping down a pad of sticky notes on the table.

Claire opened her mouth, but Elliot interjected before she could argue. "It's no problem. We actually make pretty good money over at the Battle Tent. They love us over there, and all we have to do is rent pokémon out to people," he said, dumping their plates into the trash.

"Besides, I've been dying to buy you some new clothes for ages instead of those baggy duds you usually wear," Sage teased, ruffling Claire's hair.

Claire growled, swatting her hand away.

"Fine, fine. Nothing tight. Nothing lacey. Got it," Sage said with a sigh, grabbing car keys off a peg on the wall.

"I-I actually don't know what size I am anymore," Hilton mumbled, flushing.

"Hey, no problem. No problem. Come with me, let's see if any of my stuff fits you," Elliot said, heading for his bedroom down the hall. Hesitantly, Hilton followed behind.

Claire spent the next several minutes arguing with Sage about what was and wasn't allowed as far as clothing was concerned.

Elliot strode back down the hall with Hilton dogging behind, looking uncomfortable. He paused in the hallway, adjusting his glasses and shuffling nervously.

I gasped, and Claire's eyes widened.

Elliot had an average build for a twenty-something human. Maybe a little tanner and toned than most due to hours spent at the beach, but even still his shirt still hung off Hilton's frame. When had Hilton gotten so _thin_?

I suppose during the past two weeks, I hadn't really seen him under that gigantic hoodie, but Arceus… He was chubby before all this, but… he looked _bony_ now. For a second I swore I could see his ribs. To lose that much in such a short amount of time… Claire looked back at me with a worried look in her eyes.

"Right, well, we'll be back soon" Sage said, opening the door.

"Take it easy until we get back, alright? It shouldn't be too long," Elliot assured, closing the door behind him, leaving us in silence.

"Hilton, we need to talk," Claire finally said, pushing herself up from the kitchen table and heading over to the couch. I took a seat on the cushion next to her, and Hilton sat himself down in the armchair across from us. The air felt stiff.

She looked to me, and I swallowed hard, looking between her and Hilton.

' _Okay,'_ I said slowly, ' _Remember that vision I had back in Johto? The one that started a fight between us and Lawrence?'_ I asked.

Hilton nodded, looking thoroughly confused. "Yah, you said I had a broken arm or something…"

' _That-that isn't all…'_ I said, ' _I saw you with the hurt arm, I saw a storm over the ocean, and I saw…you looking…unconscious,'_ I said, unable to bring myself to say dead.

Hilton cocked his head. "I thought that vision didn't come true. Lawrence searched the other cities, remember?" he asked.

' _That's because it wasn't in Johto, it was in Slateport,'_ I said, forcing myself to maintain eye contact. Hilton gaped. I plowed on. _'Lawrence thought the city in my vision might be Slateport, which is why he brought us here. That's why we got into a fight, and that's why he left,'_ I said.

A weak "Oh," was all Hilton could manage.

"Plus, you're getting sicker," Claire added. "Maybe if we take you to the hospital instead, none of that will happen," she suggested.

Hilton frowned at that. "I already told you, I'm going to help you stop Reliance. Besides, all this sun and fresh air is starting to make me feel better, really," Hilton said, forcing a smile.

Claire raised an eyebrow.

"Anyways, we don't know where Reliance is in Hoenn, do we?" he asked.

I shook my head while Claire regarded him with guarded curiosity.

"Soooo," Hilton continued, "It's not like we're going to invade any bases soon. We've gotta do some digging and find out where they are, right?"

"You think just because you're not actively fighting Reliance grunts, it means you won't get sick," Claire asked, giving him a dubious look.

"You know that's not what I meant," he said, resting his head on his hands.

Claire sighed, reclining back. "I know," she mumbled.

' _I could try Heal Pulse again,'_ I suggested, and both agreed. I hoped off the couched, making my way over to Hilton. He watched me with curiosity.

' _I forgot, the last few times I tried this, you were unconscious,'_ I said, and he nodded. _'Well, prepare to be amazed,'_ I said, wiggling my fingers. He grinned at that.

I focused my power to my palms as always, watching's Hilton's face go slack with awe as the energy ball formed. I released it, sending the flurry of sparks cascading over his body. He tried to catch them in the air, but they only vanished into his skin. The last spark vanished, and I stepped back, watching him. He looked the same.

' _So, how do you feel?'_ I asked.

"Better!" he said with a little too much enthusiasm.

I crossed my arms, frowning. _'Hilton, if it gets any worse I'm taking you to the hospital if I have to drag you kicking and screaming,'_ I said seriously.

"No, really! I really do feel better," he insisted, waving his arms. "Don't we have something more important to worry about, like Reliance?" he asked, desperate for a subject change.

' _More important than your health?'_ I grumbled, but the humans ignored me.

"So where do we start? Tracking down Reliance, I mean?" Hilton asked.

Claire pushed herself up from the couch and started to pace in steady circles.

"We could always ask around Slateport. I'm sure someone will have some information," Hilton suggested.

"The problem with that is," Claire said tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "If Reliance finds out someone is poking around, they might try to hunt them back down," she said.

"Well, we would've found them, wouldn't we?" Hilton asked.

"Our goal needs to be to find their base without being discovered, so we can tell the police. If Reliance thinks a base is about to be discovered, they'll destroy it and move on. I've seen it first hand," she said, being to pace again.

"Oh!" Hilton said, reaching over the armrest to dig around in his backpack. "My C-Gear!" he said, pulling the device out of the backpack. "I can give Maylene a call and see if we can do a little info swap," he said, clicking the device on.

Claire shrugged, walking over to hover behind Hilton's seat. "Worth a shot," she said.

Hilton dialed her number, and the phone rang once. Twice. On the third ring, someone answered.

"Hello, Hilton?" came an unsure, but familiar voice.

"Maylene!" Hilton cried, grinning at the screen.

"Arceus, I'm glad you're okay. I've been meaning to call, but things are just so crazy over here," she said with a sigh.

"Look look look look look!" Hilton said, leaning out of the way. "We found Claire!" he said, gesturing to her.

Claire gave an awkward wave. "Hi, Maylene. It's been a while."

"Oh my god! I remember you now!" Maylene exclaimed. "Yeah, from a couple years ago! I remember your Staraptor! How is he doing, by the way?" she asked.

"Reliance still has most of my pokémon," Claire said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Maylene trailed off. "Anyway, is this call business or pleasure?" she asked with a grin.

"A little of both I guess," Hilton admitted. "I was wondering what you could tell us about Reliance's movement in Hoenn."

Maylene didn't respond immediately, and when she did it was slow and cautious. "I know you're trustworthy, Hilton, believe me, I do, but…"

"You can't tell us," Hilton concluded, sinking back into the chair.

"The League's been having security leaks," Maylene said quietly. "I can't say much, but…be careful who you trust, okay?"

Hilton nodded slowly. "All we know is that they might have some bases in Hoenn, and whatever they're planning, it's happening soon."

"We figured as much, the Leagu—" Maylene was interrupted by another voice. "Maylene, is that you?"

"Stay safe and be careful!" Maylene hissed, hanging up her cross-transceiver.

"That's not good," murmured Claire, beginning to pace again. "If Reliance has connections with the League…ooh, that's not good," she said, mostly to herself.

"Here, let me call Ms. Allen," Hilton said, pressing more buttons on his C-Gear.

"After what Maylene just said?" Claire asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"She saved us multiple times," Hilton pointed out, "Why can you just trust people?" he asked.

"Because in my experience people aren't the most reliable resources," Claire grumbled, pacing faster.

Hilton rolled his eyes and began to drum on the coffee table in thought. "What are we going to do now? It's not like the police are going to share their case files with foreigners," Hilton added, causing Claire to pause.

"You're right, but do you know what is public?" she mumbled, spinning around to stare at us with wide eyes.

"Ummm…the top ten most wanted?" Hilton asked with a shrug.

"Yeah, and the missing persons list!" Claire said, snapping her fingers. "If we can figure out when and where they disappeared, we might be able to guess the vicinity of the Reliance base!" she said.

' _Wouldn't the police already have done that?'_ I asked.

"Yeah, but there's a trick to that," Claire said, crossing her arms triumphantly. "Reliance is smart enough not to kidnap trainers right outside their bases. If I know where their "hunting zone" is—"

Hilton and I cringed at that.

Claire waved her arms. "I know, I know, their term, not mine. Anyway, if I know that, I might be able to figure out where their actual base is."

"Alright, so what do we need?" Hilton asked.

Claire hummed for a moment, biting the tip of her thumb. "Computers, maps, notebook paper, I don't know," she confessed, sitting back down on the couch by me. "Can I borrow your C-Gear? I'd like to give Sage and Elliot a call," she said.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** So another Noël and Lawrence argument, but whose side are you on? What do you think of Sage and Elliot?


	34. Morning in Slateport

**Chapter 34: Morning in Slateport**

 **(***)**

Four humans sat on the living room floor, two new pizza boxes not far off. I watched them lazily from the couch. Apparently my illiteracy had reduced me to the role of "emotional support".

"Okay," Elliot said, laptop in his lap as he munched on another slice of deep dish-the twins had claimed that because it was deep dish this time, it didn't count as having the small meal twice in a row. Elliot looked over to Hilton, who kneeled by the large map of the Hoenn region covering the floor. "This girl was last seen five years ago on Route 212," the twin said.

Hilton nodded, taking a tack and sticking it into the map at the respective route. The twins had layered broken down, empty pizza boxes beneath the map, so the tacks had something to pin to. I was beginning to wonder how much they actually cooked for themselves. By the layer of dust on every kitchen appliance besides the microwave, I guessed not much.

"Remember, if was five years ago, you need to use the pink tacks," Claire said around a mouth full of pepperoni mushroom.

"No, the _fuchsia_ is five years, the pink is six or more," Sage said, looking up from her own laptop.

"No, the green is six or more," Elliot said. "See? I told you we should've made a key," he said. Sage and Claire rolled their eyes in unison.

"Put a blue tack on Route 119 near the weather station," Sage said to Claire, who nodded.

"Arceus, we're only on page three," Elliot moaned, leaning backward. "This is going to take forever," he said, leaning his head against the coffee table. "Hopefully the League can stop Reliance before the Poké Festival in a couple of days. Reliance has been doing everything they can to delay it. I heard it got so bad that they had to close off Sootopolis to visitors until the actual event starts," Elliot says.

"I didn't think you could close off an entire city," Hilton mumbled.

"I didn't either!" Elliot exclaimed, shrugging, leaving us in thoughtful silence.

"Hey, can I get some water? I'm starting to get a headache," Hilton asked, looking between Elliot and Sage.

"Sure!" Elliot said, setting his laptop down and pushing himself off the ground. He strode over to the kitchen.

"Hey, I'll do you one better," Elliot called, rummaging through various cabinets. "Sage, do you see what time it is?" he called, staring at the microwave clock. "Please tell me we never changed this clock forward," he said.

"Time change was five months ago," Hilton said, face twisted in confusion.

"And you're surprised?" Claire said under her breath. Sage didn't hear her.

"Yeah, I changed it last week, remember?" Sage called back. "Oh, right! Well, in that case, it really is 11:47," he said, coming back with a granola bar in his mouth and carrying water bottles in his hands. He tossed the first at Hilton, who missed by a mile.

"And I'm just gonna put this right here for you," Elliot said, grinning, and put a bottle of pills next to Hilton. "Alright kiddos, time to go to bed," he said clapping his hands.

Claire rolled her eyes. "It's only 11."

"Now, you don't sass me, young lady," Elliot said, doing what I could only imagine was an interpretation of their father. Sage roared with laughter, but Claire just cringed.

"R-really though, you guys have been through a lot today. This will all be here in the morning," Sage said, wiping her tears away and closing her laptop.

"Well, Hilton, looks like you'll be spending the night in the man cave. A rare and lucrative honor," Elliot said, doing his best to maintain a straight face and failing.

"Ooh, and Claire you can sleep with me just like you did when you were little," Sage said, clapping cheerfully.

Claire glowered at that. She was already upset at Sage's choice of clothing she'd bought at the store. Even now she'd been forced into colorfully patterned pajama shorts. It was the plain, loose T-shirt that she wore over it that kept her sane. At least Elliot's choices for Hilton seemed more reasonable.

"I think I'll sleep out here with Noël," Claire mumbled, looking over to me.

Sage pouted, crossing her arms.

"Besides," Claire said. "I'd like to work just a little longer, and I wouldn't want to wake you," she said.

Sage planted her hands on her hips, staring her younger sister down. "Claire," she said, eyes narrowing.

"Just a little longer. I couldn't sleep now if I tried," she said. Sage's face softened, and she didn't press the matter.

"Fine," she said. "Just don't stay up too late," she said, grabbing the pizza boxes off the floor. "And you can still sleep in my room. You know I sleep like the dead," Sage said with a small smile.

"Alright Hilton, let me introduce you to the greatest place on Earth," Elliot said, locking arms with Hilton. Hilton walked with him down the hallway, disappearing into the darkness. Sage slid the pizza into the fridge, before shutting off the kitchen light, leaving us in the soft glow of the living room's lamps.

Before leaving us in the dim light, Sage saluted Claire and vanished down the hallway.

Claire watched her leave before scooting over to Elliot's humming laptop, scrolling through the profiles. The white-blue glow of the screen caught the planes of her face and torso but left the rest of her in shadow. The artificial light bleached out her skin. She looked ghostly.

Now that the room was silent, save for the sound of Claire scrolling down the page, it allowed the distant sound of crashing waves to rise to the front of my consciousness. I twisted my torso, so I could see out of the glass doors an over the balcony.

' _You can see the ships from here,'_ I murmured, looking out at the specs of light floating on the black ocean.

Unsteady footsteps came trotting down the hallway and Hilton reemerged, glasses askew.

"There they are," he murmured, carefully stepping around the tack-filled map to grab his water bottle and jug of painkillers. He paused, looking from the map to Claire. "You know, if you want to keep going for a while longer, I'd be happy to split the work," he offered.

' _Me too,'_ I added, still unsure of what I could do.

Claire watched Hilton, expression unreadable before finally sighing. "It's fine. I'm going to bed in a few minutes anyway," she said.

"If you're sure," Hilton said with a shrug, heading back to Elliot's room.

Silence fell again, and I watched the twinkles of light drift across the ocean like stars. My breathing synchronized with the sound of the surf. Push then pull. Inhale then exhale. It felt like we were back at the Pokémon Center in Sunyshore. Just me and Claire after a long day of training for our match with Volkner. Reliance was just a bad dream.

 **(***)**

The next morning we all sat around the kitchen table, munching away at sugar-coated cereal except for Claire, who stirred it around slowly, staring absently into milky oblivion. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and she barely blinked.

I rose from my chair, walking past her for more Coco-O's, when something caused me to pause. I stepped closer to Claire, squinting at her mess of brown hair. With a quick, decisive motion, I yanked out a grey hair. After a thirty second delay, she flinched.

I presented my prize to her. ' _You need get some rest,'_ I said. ' _When you're stressed, I'm stressed, and when we're both stressed everyone is,'_ I said.

She turned to look at me with tired eyes. _'You've grown up, Noël,'_ she murmured telepathically, an ability technically anyone had if I opened the channel first.

At her praise I puffed up proudly, jutting my chin forward.

She smiled at that, but then her grin fell. _'I wasn't there to see it. Reliance took that away from me,'_ she said, staring blankly past me.

' _Hey,'_ I said, shifting to the side to get in her line of sight and forcing her to look me in the eyes. ' _You're here now though, and that's what matters,'_ I said.

"Ummm," started Elliot from across the table. "Are we missing something?" he asked, looking from me to Claire.

Hilton shrugged. "Telepathy thing. You get used to it," he said, poking at his cereal.

Sage burst out laughing, causing Claire to jump.

"Arceus, control yourself woman," Elliot said, placing a hand over his heart.

"N-n-no," she said, fighting back tears, "do you remember way back in Floaroma town, when Josephine mixed poison oak in with the bouquets?" she managed between giggles.

Elliot almost choked on his cereal, dropping the spoon into the bowl with a loud clack. "I almost forgot about that," he said, leaning back in his chair with a wide grin.

"Oh my gosh, I remember that!" exclaimed Hilton, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"How? You should've been little," Sage said, trying to do the math in her head.

"Because," Claire began. "She pulled the same trick three more times before they figured out it was her," she said smiling at the memory.

"Do you remember that third time, though?" Hilton asked Claire, dissolving into laughter.

"Oh yeah," Claire said with a nod, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Why? What happened?" asked Elliot, smirking.

"There was this line of red, itching people that went all the way from the store to Route 205," Hilton managed, between bouts of laughter.

"That was a mess," said Claire, snorting.

"Whatever happened to Josephine, anyways? She never went on her journey, did she?" Sage asked.

Claire shrugged. "I think she was working in the Pokémon Center last I saw of her," she said.

Hilton nodded. "That's what I remember too. I haven't been back home in months," he said a little wistfully.

A relaxed silence fell as we ate our cereal. Had I ever been to Floaroma Town? I couldn't remember now.

"So, this morning Elliot and I were talking," said Sage in a startlingly serious tone. Both Claire and Hilton lifted their heads to watch her. I could feel Hilton's concern growing while Claire just felt suspicious.

"We might have a way to dig up some info on Reliance," Elliot said.

"Really? That's awesome!" Hilton exclaimed, looking from them to Claire.

Claire narrowed her eyes, watching her siblings. "And how are you going to do this, exactly?" she asked.

Sage and Elliot meet gazes, saying more with their eyes than I ever could with telepathy.

"We have…some friends," Elliot began casually.

"What friends," Claire growled.

"They're ex-team Aqua grunts," Sage said with a sigh.

"You're joking me," Claire said, trying to figure out if they were being earnest.

"It was a long time ago," Sage protested.

"But they still like to hang out at the old shipyard," Elliot said.

"You're joking me," Claire repeated. "When I tried to pretend to join up with the bad guys, they left me chained to a wall to die," she said.

"It's not like that. You've got to understand, Claire," Sage said, and I could feel her desperation. "It's not a Team Aqua thing, they're just a bunch of old friends who like to meet up," she said.

"Then you wouldn't mind if we came along," Claire said, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"You know we can't do that," said Elliot, rubbing his forehead.

"And why not? It's because it's going to be dangerous," Claire accused, rounding on him.

"And here I thought you didn't care about us," Elliot said, smiling. Claire flushed, looking away.

"Claire, they're harmless," Sage said, laying a hand on her younger sister, "They're just not too big on strangers."

"Yeah," Elliot said. "And don't forget who we are. We've got more gym badges than you," he said, winking.

"Just by one," Claire grumbled, but not shrugging away from Sage's hand. Elliot pushed himself out of his chair, collecting our empty dishes and placing them in the sink. "Alright," he said, spinning around and clapping his hands. "We got groceries last night, so you should be good there. Umm, fire extinguisher is under the kitchen sink and so is the first aid kit. We keep the extra house key in 234's fake potted plant. What else?" he asked, looking to Sage.

She shrugged, standing up. "I don't know. Um, we can leave you guys some money for takeout. We've got the numbers off all the restaurants that deliver in a ten-mile radius taped on the fridge," she said, pointing. "You about ready to go, Elliot?" he nodded, tossing Sage her purse.

"Oh! The thing!" Elliot said, looking to Sage with wide eyes. Sage grinned and jogged back down the hall. She reemerged with something held behind her back. Grinning, she strode over to Claire, who watched her with caution

"We've got a surprise for you," Sage sang, bursting with excitement.

"Nothing lacey or patterned I hope," Claire said, craning her head to see around Sage.

"Tah-dah!" Sage shouted, presenting Claire with a glossy box.

Claire took it slowly, mouth hanging open. "It's a—" she began.

"New Holo Caster!" Sage said, clapping and jumping up and down. "Don't you love it?"

Claire pulled open the end of the box, prying the shiny lime green device from its Styrofoam casing.

"We figured since Reliance stole your old C-Gear, we might as well give you an upgrade. Oh, and you can thank me for the color," Elliot said. "Sage wanted to get you the pink one."

"We may have already taken it out of the box and put our numbers in," Sage confessed. "I was planning on giving it to you last night, but apparently you decided not to sleep," she said.

"Sorry," Claire mumbled, powering the device on.

Elliot sighed, "Well, we've got to head out and explain to the boss why we need the day off," he said, stretching with a yawn. Sage groaned and headed for the keys hanging on the wall. She grabbed them, spinning them around her index finger.

"We should be back late tonight or tomorrow. We'll try to call later," she said.

"Stay safe, little sis," Elliot said, ruffling Claire's hair as he passed her to the door. Sage opened the door, stepping out and Elliot followed, pausing in the door frame. "And you make sure to take it easy, alright Hilton?" he said.

Hilton nodded, and the door closed, leaving us alone again.

"Sooo, what now?" Hilton asked. "Wait until your siblings get back?" he suggested.

Claire frowned. "How about we get back to mapping. I made it half way through the pages last night and—"

"What?!" Hilton exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and jogging over to the map in the living room, Claire and I followed in interest.

"I can't even see the map anymore," Hilton said, circling the rainbow sea of thumb tacks. "You did this all last night?" he asked in amazement, looking up at her.

"Yeah," Claire mumbled, "But there's still a lot more to do."

"Did you figure it out?" Hilton asked. "Is there a pattern?"

Claire was silent.

Oh. That wasn't good news.

"I rechecked the ones we did together and added the ones I did last night to the list up there. I'm trying to sort all the cases from the past two years by demographic," she explained, pointed to a stack of paper. Hilton picked up a few from the top.

"Age, gender, number of badges… Arceus, Claire, how did you manage to get all this done last night?" Hilton asked in awe.

"There's still a lot more to do," she only repeated, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Why don't we take a break from this?" Hilton asked, setting the papers back down on the stack and straightening them. "Go out and talk to some people, see if they know anything," he suggested.

"I already told you," Claire said, reclining back into the armchair with a sigh. "If Reliance finds out we're poking around, they'll come after us," she said.

"We'll be careful about who we talk to," Hilton argued, stepping towards Claire, but in the process sending the stack of papers flying across the floor.

Claire scowled, sinking off the chair and onto her knees, collecting the scattered papers. "Fine, Hilton," she grumbled. "If you want to go out and talk to people, be my guest," she said.

I bent down, helping Claire finish gathering her papers. _'I'll stay and help you,'_ I said to Claire.

She shook her head, "It's fine. You can go with Hilton and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," she said, voice low so Hilton couldn't hear.

' _Are you sure?'_ I asked, handing her the last of the stray papers.

"It'll be fine. They might not even be in Slateport. We don't even know I they're in Hoenn for sure," she said, absently rolling a tack between her thumb and forefinger. "Just be careful who you talk to and who might be listening."

 **(***)**

Two hours later Hilton and I returned, carrying halved pineapples with tiny umbrellas sticking out of the hollowed centers.

"Claire, look what we got!" Hilton exclaimed, trotting into the living room and dropping our loot on the coffee table. I paused in the doorframe, tossing the spare house key back into 234's plant before closing the door behind me.

' _You should've seen it. Because of the mask, everyone thought Hilton was some sort of street performer,'_ I exclaimed.

"And then Noël blew their minds!" Hilton said, throwing his hands into the air.

' _Not literally!'_ I quickly added.

"Claire, you should've seen it!" Hilton exclaimed, spinning around the room. "Noël would close his eyes, then someone would throw a punch and he would dodge," Hilton said, sliding his mask off to reveal his flushed, enthusiastic face.

' _And then they gave us money!'_ I said.

"And we bought souvenirs!" Hilton finished, gesturing to the pile of assorted bumper stickers, fridge magnets, and snow globes. Claire finally looked up from the map. I tried to keep the surprise off my face; her brown hair stuck out in every direction, and the dark circles beneath her eyes had somehow gotten worse in the two hours we were gone. She looked up at us, blinking slowly.

' _Have you left that spot since we left?'_ I asked, trying to keep the concern out of my voice.

"Didn't need to," she mumbled, looking back down to the laptop on her lap and scrolling down.

"I tried calling you, but you didn't pick up," Hilton said, "The guy who owns the restaurant down the street said we could get lunch on the house sometime, and we weren't sure if you wanted us to get food yet or not," he explained.

' _Apparently we brought him a lot of business,'_ I said, straining to remember exactly what the man had said.

"My Holo Caster died," Claire mumbled, crawling over and placing another yellow tack on the map.

"What‽" Hilton and I exclaimed in unison.

"You just got it this morning!" Hilton said. "You should take it back to the store and see if you can get a replacement," he said.

"Later," Claire said, pulling the tack back out with a frown, and going back to check to the computer.

"How about you go get a replacement and pick up some lunch? Maybe getting away from all of this-" Hilton said, gesturing to the mess that'd taken over the twins' living room, "-will help clear your mind," he suggested.

"Maybe later," Claire said, shuffling through some papers with a confused look on her face.

"How about…we make a bet?" Hilton suggested, crossing his arms with a mischievous grin.

Claire finally ripped her gaze up from the map, her blank expression broken by a single raised eyebrow.

"If _I_ win, you take a break, and if _you_ win…" Hilton trailed off, frowning in confusion.

"You stop bothering me?" Claire suggested, a twinge of annoyance pulling at the corner of her mouth.

Hilton shrugged. "Sounds good. What should we bet on though…" he asked, rubbing his chin. "Oh!" his eyes lit up. "I can arm wrestle Noël!" he said, slamming a fist down on his open palm.

' _What‽'_ I shouted. Claire only snorted, leaning back to watch him.

' _Are you serious?'_ I asked him. I couldn't wrestle a sick kid. It'd be unethical! And though size had given him the advantage over me for so long, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I was stronger than him now.

"Sound good, Claire?" Hilton asked, crossing his arms.

"Sure, Hilton," she said with a distinctive I-think-you're-an-idiot-but-I'm-humoring-you laugh.

"Alright, to the kitchen table!" Hilton declared, marching out of the living. I watched him go in stunned silence.

"C'mon, Noël," Claire said, yawning and pushing herself off the floor. "This oughta be good," she said, and I dogged after her.

Hilton sat on a chair by the table, gesturing to the seat across from him. Sending confused looks in Claire's direction, I took the seat.

Hilton rested his elbow on the table, leaving his hand open. I watched his arm in confusion.

' _What am I suppose to do?'_ I asked, looking from him to Claire.

"Take my hand," Hilton said, and I tried my best to mimic his pose.

"Count us down, Claire," Hilton called, looking at me with a competitive grin.

"Alright, three, two, one, and go!" Claire said.

' _Wait!'_ I cried. _'What am I suppose to-!'_

Before I could finish Hilton slammed my arm down on the table, jumping up from his seat and roaring victoriously. Of course, I'd seen the move coming, I just had no idea what I was supposed to do in response. In confusion, I watched him howl and jump around the room.

' _Wait? Is it over?'_ I asked, face twisting.

Claire sighed, running a hand through her wild hair. "Yeah, it's over," she mumbled. "I'm disowning you, Noël. You're out of the will," she said.

' _What does that even mean‽'_ I asked, throwing my hands into the air. _'I'm so confused!'_

Ignoring my theatrics, Claire turned to Hilton. "Follow me, I'll make a list of what I was working on," Claire said, leading him back into the living room. Still terribly confused, I got up and followed.

Claire spent the next ten minutes explaining her system and how she had everything arranged. I sure hoped Hilton managed to pay attention to all of that because my mind started to drift about three minutes in.

"Alright, I think I got it," Hilton said, holding Claire's recently penned sheet of instructions.

"You sure?" she asked, raising in eyebrow and obviously unconvinced of his claim.

"Yeah, yeah yeah," Hilton said glancing at the disaster zone of papers and loose thumb tacks before him.

"Just try not to mess anything up while I'm gone," she said, massaging her forehead.

"We won't fail, right Noël?" he asked, startling me out of my daydream.

' _Oh, yeah. Sure!'_ I said.

Claire grabbed one of Sage's old backpacks from the closet, stuffing a few essentials inside. Hilton gave Claire directions to the electronics store, and practically had to push her out of the door to get her to leave. "Alright, come back soon!" he called and closed the door before slumping against it. "Geez," he said, wiping his forehead. "Was she seriously always like that?"

' _Always,'_ I said from my position on the couch.

"Sooo, how are we going to do this?" he asked, coming over to survey Claire's workspace. After a ten-minute discussion that was mostly Hilton mumbling to himself, we decided on semi-feasible system. Hilton took the laptop and recorded information on Claire's demographics sheets, and he called out route numbers so I could tack them. Because I could only partially read numbers, he had to read them out as "one, one, two," as opposed to "one hundred and twelve," but it worked.

Half an hour later Claire returned to find that the living room's disaster had expanded to absorb parts of the kitchen and the hallway, with us hunched over in the epicenter.

The door opened, and she poked her head in. Quickly I stuffed my hands behind my back, hiding my band-aid covered fingers. I wasn't very good with thumb tacks.

"It was just a bad battery," she explained, setting her mysterious plastic bags on the kitchen table. "All they had to do was pop open the back and given me a new one," she explained, fiddling with the Holo Caster strung around her neck. "And I got us subs," she said, nodding to the bag on the table.

"Awesome," Hilton said, shifting and stretching his arms over his head, almost causing his glasses to slip off his face. "Oh, and I made a little change to your demographics sheets," Hilton said, offering her the stack of papers. She took them, shuffling through them with at first annoyance.

"Instead of writing names down—" Hilton started.

"You wrote the Route number and shorthanded the other information so we wouldn't have to cross-reference later," she mumbled, face slipping from irritation to appreciation. "Smart."

He laughed a little, pushing himself off the floor and offering me a hand that I readily accepted. "I still can't believe how much you got done last night. It takes forever with two people, and you were by yourself," he said. "We only managed to get seven pages done," he admitted.

Claire's eyes widened at that. "Seven? Are you serious?"

Hilton shuffled awkwardly, scratching his head. "Yeah, we didn't really have time for mo—"

"No, that's really good. I only managed to get through three this morning," Claire said, and we followed her back into the kitchen.

"But you were working alone," Hilton pointed out, and Claire tossed him a sandwich. To everyone's surprise, he actually caught it.

"I got berry crisps for you, Noël," she said, tossing me a plastic bag.

I grinning, tearing into it. Lunch passed in a flash, and all too soon I found myself kneeling on the living room floor again.

' _I don't know how many more tacks we have room for,'_ I confessed, looking at what used to be a map of Hoenn.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Claire said, seating herself behind the laptop. Hilton stationed himself with the papers, so he could continue his shorthand, leaving me with the only job I knew how to do: tack pusher.

Two hours, four band-aids, and three inside jokes later, I pushed the last tack into Route 111. Hilton moaned, throwing himself back and making a snow angel in the piles of paper. "I can't believe we're finally done. I never wanna—Ow!" he shouted, rolling over to pull a stray tack out from underneath him.

' _See! It's not so funny now, is it!'_ I said, pointing and laughing at him. "I thought it was going to take us at least three days," Claire said, leaning back to rest her head on the couch cushion.

"See? Teamwork. Can we please please take a break now?" Hilton asked, covering his hands with his eyes.

Claire frowned. "But now that we have everything down, we need to analyze the data," she muttered.

' _I lost the ability to tell pink apart from fuchsia an hour ago,'_ I moaned. Part of that was because I had been spacing out at the cruise ship docking in the distance, but still! All the tacks looked the same now.

"And I'm pretty sure I wrote the same person's details at least five times. Besides, you said we finished ahead of schedule," Hilton pointed out.

"Did you already have your break this morning?" she asked, glancing over to the pile of souvenirs that hadn't moved from the coffee table since we'd dropped them there. "Besides," she continued. "Did you say your headache was coming back?" she asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"And fresh air is just what I need. Good plan, Claire," Hilton said pushing himself up. "Besides, if we go to the marketplace, we might overhear something," he added.

"Now you're just grasping at straws. If your headache is coming back, maybe you should take a nap instead," she said, watching him cautiously.

"I'm fine, really," Hilton insisted, climbing to his feet and doing a little turn-around to prove it.

Claire wasn't convinced but caved anyway. "Fine, but if you start to feel worse, we're coming back," she said, pulling herself up and stretching. After helping me up, Claire hunted down what was left of the money the twins had left, and stuffed it in her pocket before pulling up a holographic map on her Holo Caster.

Hilton fastened his mask back onto his face and opened the front door for us. "Alright!" Hilton said, "Slateport adventure, here we go."

The three of us made our way out of the twins' apartment, climbing down the stairs until we hit ground floor. After spending so many hours inside, the bright summer sun almost blinded me, reflecting off the white concrete sidewalks and buildings. Why did everything in Slateport have to be white or beige?

The air smelled like salt, and above the gentle hum of street traffic, I could hear the screaming gulls and distant roar of the ocean. Tourists in loose clothing and sunglasses walked past us, eating popsicles and consumed in their own little world.

"You've got the map, Claire, lead the way," Hilton said, gesturing at the street before us. With a nod, and a quick glance down to her Holo Caster, she strode forth.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** The more tropical I make it, the less cold I feel irl.


	35. Afternoon in Slateport

**A/N:** *menacing bongo drums play in the distance*

 **Chapter 35: Afternoon in Slateport**

 **(***)**

Hilton pushed through the throng of people to a narrow alcove where he could be out of the throng of traffic. I followed after Hilton, pushing to safety to watch Claire from afar. Apparently, another boy had the same idea and waited in the shade while his girlfriend browsed through the assorted sculptures made of colorful blown glass that caught the light filtering through the blue tents.

Across the crowded pathway, Claire interrogated the stall owner about Arceus-knows-what.

The boy next to us gave us a sidelong glance.

"Is it always this crazy?" Hilton asked the boy over the roar of the crowd.

"Are you kidding? Every co-ordinator this side of Hoenn is here," he shouted," It's the contest event of the year! No, scratch that! Of the last five years!" he said.

"Wait, what?" Hilton asked, and I craned my head to hear the other boy's response.

"Don't you watch the news‽ They're all gonna taking a ship up to Sootopolis for the big contest during the Poké Festival. _Everyone's_ going to be there! Fantina, Johanna, Jasmine, Drew Hayden, there are even trainers coming in from Kalos for this! Not only will the biggest names in the League be there this time, but coordinators too! It's going to be the biggest Poké Festival yet!" he shouted back.

"I thought they closed the whole city off until the festival," Hilton said in confusion.

"They did! That's why everyone is trying to get on the cruise ship! It's the only way to get in before the day-of!" he shouted back, but then his girlfriend beckoned him over, gesturing to a necklace with excitement. The other boy groaned before diving back into the crowd. As he vanished, Claire reemerged from the sea of bodies.

She, like the rest of us was covered in sweat from the body heat and hot temperature, but a smile played across her tired face. "I found us a lead," she said, glancing back at the shopkeeper, who waved.

' _About Reliance?'_ I asked with eagerness.

She shook her head, smile falling a fraction of an inch, before turning to Hilton. "How are you? Can you keep going a bit longer?" she asked over the clamor.

He nodded, wiping the sweat off of the back of his neck. Because of the extent of his mutation, he'd been forced to wear a long-sleeved shirt to cover his discolored and misshapen arm despite the blistering heat. It almost made me miss the freezing climates we'd encountered in Johto or the Sinnoh wind's perpetual bite.

"I'm fine," Hilton insisted, voice muffled by the mask.

"Alright, we won't be much longer," she promised. "Follow me," she said, pushing her way into the crowd. At least this time we could follow the flow of traffic. The three of us made our way through the throng of sweaty tourists, screaming children, and swimsuit-clad natives, observing the stalls as we passed. Food was the most common good, and I couldn't count the mountains of spices I'd never seen before. They came in barrels, jars, burlap sacks, and bottles of all different colors.

Claire turned back to talk to Hilton but ran straight into a bag hanging from the awning above. It exploded on impact with a cloud of red smoke, sending Claire stumbling back, coughing.

She moaned, trying to wipe it off her face, and turned around to face us. "Did I get it off?"

Hilton and I burst out laughing. Her nose was covered in red powder. I giggled myself into a fit of hiccups and missed seeing Claire pulling the hanging bag back, and swinging it towards me. My chest hummed, and I dodged just in time so it could collide with the back of Hilton's head instead. He stumbled forward, clutching the back of his skull.

Claire held back a snort as he tried to wipe the red dust off his green hair.

"You look ridiculous," she said, withholding laughter.

"Still doing better than you," he said, and I could hear the grin in his voice. Rolling her eyes, Claire tried to wipe the remaining powder off her face with the bottom of her shirt. Because the mystery spice clung to the sweat on her face, she wasn't very successful. Now it just looked like she had a horrible rash, but in comparison to Hilton's seviper mask, it didn't look too out of place. Finally, we began to walk again.

"Hey," Claire called back to Hilton. "People probably think you're just a co-ordinator," Claire said, and Hilton nodded thoughtfully. A six-foot-eight man passed us wearing a full-on igglybuff costume.

' _Co-ordinators are weird,'_ I mumbled, trying not to stare as the man passed.

"You said it," Hilton said, weaving around a pregnant woman to follow Claire into the recesses of a booth.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Hilton asked hopefully, trying to peer over Claire's shoulder.

"Nah, I just thought these were interesting," Claire said, peering at a display of braided leather bracelets with a flat piece of leather on the front.

"We can engrave your name in any language," said the old woman sitting nearby, braiding one of the bracelets.

"Mmm, that's cool. I might have to come back," Claire murmured before thanking the lady and pushing back out of the booth and back into traffic.

"Funny, I didn't take you as the jewelry type," Hilton said over the noise.

Claire shrugged, inching around a baby stroller. "I'm usually not, but those were cool. Besides, you don't have to worry about breaking it or getting it lost," she said.

I rolled my eyes. Practical to a fault.

We came to a crossroads in the markets place. Claire paused looking from one street to the next. "He just said it'd be over by…there!" she shouted, plowing through bodies like water. I jumped after her, barely making it into a small stall, tucked between two expansive fruit stands.

"Hi," Claire said to the woman behind the stall. Various items for trainers sat on display under a dirty glass case. Revives, fire stones, various ribbons and bells, but Claire ignored all of those, keeping her attention locked on the woman.

"One of the other vendors told me you have Galladite. Is that true?" Claire asked. Galladite? What? Like the Mega Stone?

The woman surveyed Claire before turning her attention to me.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," the woman said evasively. "If I did, it's a very rare stone. It wouldn't be cheap, and I wouldn't give it out to just anyone," she said. "A lot of people come asking for it, but no one has left with it," she said.

"Did they actually have gallades with them?" Claire asked, putting her hand behind me and pushing me forward. I shuffled awkwardly, staring down at my toes.

"Some did," the woman said, leaning back and crossing her arms. "Why should I let you buy it?"

Claire reached for her Holo Caster. "I have this registered in my name so…" she mumbled pressing a series of buttons. "Look," she said, pulling up a virtual copy of her trainer card because Reliance had stolen the original. "See? Seven badges and I'm working on the eighth," she said, holding her Holo Caster up so the woman could see.

"The woman shrugged, "But what does that mean to me?" she asked.

"It means," Claire said, beginning to get irritated, "That your mega stone might be used in a battle against the Elite Four in the future and actually serve its purpose instead of collecting dust behind your stand for years," Claire said, and I could tell the moment she finish she wished the words never left her lips.

Instead of being angry, the woman just threw her head back and laughed, looking back at us with a twinkle in her eye. "I like your fire girl. I'll let you buy the stone," she said, slipping off her stool to rummage around behind her stand.

She pulled up a small box, placing on her stand, digging out a key from her pocket and unlocking it. A large clear stone glinted in the light, pulling me towards it. My breath caught in my throat as the stone filled the world with an energetic hum. A much smaller key stone sat cushioned in the velvet next to it. I vaguely heard Claire and the woman discussing payment method, but I was too drawn to the stones to bother listening. All at once the box was shut, and its mesmerizing effect vanished. Claire held it under her arm, thanking the woman one last time before spinning around.

C'mon, Noël" Claire said, pulling me through the crowd. "Let's go back to the house and maybe find a place to try these out. God, I hope they're not fakes. They cost me most of what was in my bank account, you know," she said, feeling the pain of an empty virtual wallet.

' _They're real,'_ I said with certainty. _'I could feel it.'_

Claire sighed in relief. "That's good, I wond—" she stopped dead in her tracks, causing several people behind us to run into me. "Hilton," she hissed, spinning around. "Where's Hilton?" she asked, dragging me to the side and scanning the crowd for a green-haired, mask-wearing boy. "When did we lose him?" she asked me, not taking her eyes off the throng of people.

' _Umm, I don't think he made it to the stone lady,'_ I said, pushing myself up on tip-toe to try and see over the crowd, but when you're 5'3 it basically just puts you at everyone else's height.

Claire cursed, hooking one of her arms around mine and dragging me back through the river of people. I didn't see what the problem was. Sure Hilton could occasionally make some dumb decisions, but he was getting better at things like that. Besides, he was probably looking for us unless… My stomach dropped. What I Reliance found him? Did he bring Drifblim with him? What if he fell unconscious again? Arceus, why hadn't I paid more attention to him? I should've been able to tell how he was doing. The memory of my vision flashed through my head, making my stomach clench.

Claire pulled me to the security guard on the other side of the street.

"Excuse me," she said, hovering in front of him.

With a raised eyebrow, he glanced down at us. "How can I help you guys?" he asked.

"Hi, yeah. We just got separated from our…" Claire paused for a moment, evoking a look of confusion from the security guard. "Friend," Claire finally said, "And he's kinda sick, so I don't know if he's okay," Claire said.

"Who? That mask guy you were with earlier?" the guard asked.

Claire's face scrunched in confusion. "How did you…?"

The man shrugged. "With a mask like that he's hard to miss. In fact, I was kind of suspicious of him at first," the guard admitted with a laugh. "By the way, congratulations on getting that Mega Stone. That old bat's been hoarding it for years. Thought I'd never see the day when someone managed to get it from her," he said. "Bet she charged you an arm and a leg, huh?"

"Yeah," Claire mumbled bitterly.

"Anyways, the last I saw of your friend, he went that way," the guard said, pointing down the road to our right. "In this crowd he probably wouldn't have gotten too far," he said.

Claire thanked the man before rushing off. I followed her as best I could, almost wishing she was dragging me like a tin can like before. At least then I hadn't had to forge my own path.

"There!" called Claire, pointing to a green head in the distance. "Can you tell him to stop?" she asked, pushing through a mob of preschoolers in matching T-shirts.

' _I could, but by the time I got a telepathic lock on him-!'_

Claire grabbed Hilton by the arm, pulling him into the space between two stalls.

"Don't do that!" she breathed, leaning against the side of the nearby booth and panting heavily. I slipped into the alleyway and wiped the sweat off my face.

' _Can we not do that again?'_ I asked, heaving.

"Seconded," Claire managed, closing your eyes.

"Oh, hey guys! I was just about to coming looking for you," Hilton said.

"Arceus," Claire breathed, putting a hand over her racing heart. "I thought Reliance caught up with us," she mumbled.

' _And I thought you'd passed out again,'_ I added. Or worse…

"I'm sorry," Hilton said, shuffling and scratching the back of his head. "I thought I saw Sage, but it was just someone else. Oh, what's in the box?" he asked, spotting the parcel beneath Claire's arm.

She grabbed it with the opposite hand, pulling it out and holding it so it faced Hilton. With her free hand, she popped open the lid.

Hilton gasped. "Isn't that one of those Mega Stones?" he asked.

Claire nodded, closing the box, and stuffing it back under her arm.

"Aren't those, like, crazy expensive though?" he asked, cocking his head.

Claire groaned. "I don't want to talk about it," she said.

Hilton shrugged. "So I found a place we might want to look into," he said. "I asked the old man at the stall, and he said back forever ago Team Aqua messed around at the museum, I figured we might as well check it out," he said.

"Messed around?" Claire asked quizzically.

Hilton put his arms up in surrender. "His words not mine."

Claire turned to me. "Are you alright if we hold back on that Mega Stone training for a little longer?"

I nodded. _'Sure, let's go check out the museum,'_ I said.

"Your Holo Caster wouldn't happen to have a map out of here, would it?" Hilton asked hopefully.

Claire shook her head. "But I think I know the way we came," she said. We followed her yet again out into the flow of people, this time staying strictly in our "lane".

"Hilton, look at that," Claire hissed after several minutes of passing stalls in silence.

"What? I don't—Arceus," Hilton broke into boughs of laughter while Claire tried to stifle her own.

' _What? What is it?'_ I asked looking around. Was it that guy dressed as an igglybuff again? I wasn't sure my retinas could take that twice.

"You wouldn't understand," Claire said through her snickering, but pointing to a stall where they were airbrushing t-shirts. The stall owners had several examples suspended upon racks for passersby to see.

The top one read: Sumer Vacatoin

' _What? I don't get it?_ ' I said, which only caused the two humans to laugh harder.

"I'm buying us those," Hilton said through tears, stumbling towards the stand.

"No, Hilton," Claire said, trying to chase after him.

Hilton approached the man at the stall, pointing at the Sumer Vacatoin shirt. At first, the man went red in the face, but as soon as Hilton pulled a wad of money from his pocket, the man seemed more than happy to oblige.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Claire said, watching the man airbrush Hilton's shirt in greens and blues.

"What colors do you want, Claire?" he asked, still snickering.

"I dunno. Blue and orange," she said, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of it all.

' _Explain it to meee,'_ I whined, and Claire finally turned around to address me.

"It's just spelled wrong, Noël," she said, with a grin.

' _I don't get it. Why is that so funny?'_ I asked, cocking my head.

She just shook her head with a little laugh. "It just is."

Fifteen minutes later the vendor handed my humans their painted, sealed, and pressed 'Summer Vacatoin' shirts.

"I can't believe we just did that. I can't believe you paid for that," Claire said, shaking her head as we broke free from the last of the stalls. Thankfully, once we were out of the throng of stalls we traded our shade for the cooling sea breeze, letting it wash over us.

Using her new Holo Caster as a guide, Claire led us down a crowded street, though in comparison to the bazaar it seemed deserted.

"Hey, look the Poké Mart!" Hilton said, pointing to the familiar blue-roofed building ahead of us. "Do you need anything, Claire? We still have money left," he said.

She shook her head. "I think I've had enough shopping for a lifetime," she confessed. "Besides we should save the rest of it for food and other important things," she said.

"I disagree. The Sumer Vacatoin shirts were vital to my continued existence," Hilton proclaimed as we walked past the Poké Mart. I took a moment to enjoy the blast of cool air as the doors slid open.

After crossing over a crosswalk, I spied a large, turquoise building in the distance. _'Is that the museum?'_ I asked, squinting.

Claire looked down, checking her Holo Caster. "Yep. That's Slateport's Oceanic museum alright."

As we approached, we found the museum to be situated in a large field of lush, manicured lawn, with topiary dotting the pathway there. Elegant, four story pillars held the roof aloft, framing the marble stairs. Even more astounding than the grandeur of the building, or the expansive seascape to our right, was the obscenely long line that snaked out of the museum.

"Line? How in the world does it have a line? Who waits in line on a day like today for a museum?" Claire asked incredulously.

Hilton pointed to the large banner planted on the front of the lawn. "I don't know if we're lucky or unlucky," he said, staring at the banner.

' _I can't reeaaadddd'_ I moaned, and Claire chuckled.

"It says today is the opening of their Team Magma and Team Aqua exhibit, which is why everyone is lined up," she said.

' _Do we really have to wait in line?'_ I asked, wishing we could go back to Sage and Elliot's nice, air conditioned apartment.

"Look, they're handing out waters, let's just do it," she said, heading for the end of the line. With an exhausted sigh, I headed after her.

After securing ourselves free bottled water, we planted ourselves at the end of the line, sitting down on the hot concrete, ready for the long haul. Silence lapsed as we collectively chugged our water.

"Excuse me," came a soft voice from in front of us. We twisted around the face the source. A black-haired woman in khaki shorts and a flowing blouse knelt at our level, while her family watched from behind.

"Could I get you guys' opinion?" she asked sweetly. "We're having a little bit of an argument," she said.

Claire shrugged. "Can't hurt. Shoot," she said, taking another swing of water.

"Well," the woman began, "half my family seems to believe Reliance's existence is nothing but a parasitic detriment to the human condition, while the other-more intelligent-half," she said, winking back to the closest child, "Argues that although Reliance's methodology and ideals are flawed, they still present questions that can lead to valid criticism of Independence's core goals. Which camp do you favor?" she asked, smiling pleasantly.

Claire stared at her in stunned silence. "I, uh, I-I don't know. I thought this was going to be a ketchup vs mustard kinda question," she admitted, looking to us with wide eyes.

The woman laughed lightly, tucking a stray strand of black hair back into her sunhat. "My family as a tad bit abnormal in that respect, I suppose, and—ah! The line is moving!" she said, standing back up.

We moved a grand total of six feet before stopping again.

"Speaking of Reliance," Hilton said, restating the conversation. The woman turned around with a curious look in her eye. "I haven't seen the news much lately. What have they been up to now?"

"Well, there was that bomb threat on the plane to Sootopolis," the woman's husband said.

"Because they thought Independence's green energy project was on it. What a mess," the woman said, shaking her head.

"Wait, did the plane actually explode?" Hilton asked, stunned.

The woman looked up. "Thankfully not. The police don't think they ever had a bomb in the first place," she said.

"It was probably just a tactic to delay the Poké Festival," chimed in one of the older siblings.

"It worked," said the youngest.

"Sure, if you ignore the moral implications of psychological terrorism," said another sibling with an eye roll.

' _Do your siblings ever act like this?'_ I asked Claire as the family dissolved into arguing politics and ideology again.

"I didn't think anyone acted like this," Claire mumbled, watching the family with a sort of awe.

"So,.." the woman said, spinning around to face us again. "What your opinions of the current Hoenn government? Specifically, the judicial system," she asked, smiling simply like she'd just asked us the time.

Claire just blinked.

"U-um, we're actually visiting from Sinnoh," Hilton said, "Sorry…"

The woman's face fell at that, but her youngest child stepped forward.

"Oh, our brother lives in Sinnoh now!" she said, smiling a wide grin and revealing several missing teeth.

Claire's stunned silence broke into a small smile.

' _Geez, I wonder why anyone would want to get away from you guys,_ ' I said, glad I could choose my audience via telepathy.

The woman stiffened at her daughter's statement, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Yes, brother does live in Sinnoh. Why don't we talk about something else, like the gender inequality of the League? Like whether Elite Four members should have to pigeonhole their pokémon to fit the outdated "specialty" rule?"

Hilton bent down to address the little girl. "That's cool. What part of Sinnoh does your brother live in?" he asked.

The mother stepped between her daughter and Hilton. "I'd appreciate if you chose not to pursue the subject further," she said, barely keeping her fake smile up.

"What? Why?" Hilton asked, cocking his head.

Claire elbowed him in the stomach. "Hilton, you can't just ask something like that," she hissed as the line finally began to move again.

"No," the woman said, "The pursuit of knowledge is divine. He involved himself with the wrong crowd and we cut our ties. That's all there is," she said grimly, stepping up to the ticket taker at the front of the line.

The large family funneled through the turnstile one by one until only the youngest daughter was left. She quickly ran back to Hilton, who bent down so she could whisper in his ear. I didn't catch her words, but Hilton froze.

"Tickets?" inquired the man at the front of the line. Hilton was paralyzed in place, so Claire pushed past him to face the man.

"I'm sorry, we're from out of town and we didn't know, is there any way we could buy tickets?" she asked hopefully.

"Absolutely," the man barked and pointed across the field. "Get in that line over there," he said, pointing to the significantly longer line that wrapped around the building.

"You're joking," Claire mumbled.

" 'Fraid not, miss. But there _are_ signs up that say it," he said and gestured back to the signpost at the beginning of the line, clearly labeled: ticket holders only.

Claire groaned, ducking under the length of chain to get out of line.

"C'mon, Hilton," she grumbled, but Hilton didn't move. "Hilton!" she said louder, jolting him to awareness. Silently he followed us out of line while the people behind us gave us agonizingly sympathetic looks.

"I need to sit down," mumbled Hilton, and Claire rolled her eyes, navigating us to the nearest, unclaimed park bench.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked, crossing her arms and glaring at the security guard.

"That girl…" Hilton mumbled.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not waiting in that ridiculously long line again _just_ to pay too much money for something I _don't_ want to see," Claire said with a huff.

"Be quiet and listen to me," Hilton snapped. Claire scowled at him, opening her mouth to argue back, but Hilton plowed on. "That was Cenric's family," Hilton said.

' _What?'_ I whispered, feeling twenty degrees colder.

"She said her older brother's name was Cenric," Hilton repeated.

"You're joking," Claire said. "Maybe it was another Cenric?" she suggested.

"How many people named Cenric have you ever heard of?" Hilton asked. "God, and they all had the black hair and the purple eyes…and he said his family was from Hoenn…" Hilton whispered, staring straight down into the concrete. "We've got to tell them," Hilton whispered.

"We can't. The guard's not gonna let us inside the museum without a ticket, and by the time we get one, they'll probably already be gone," Claire said. "Besides, it didn't sound like they wanted much to do with him," she added.

"Still," Hilton whispered.

"I know, but what can we do? What can _they_ do? It sounded like if we told them he'd been captured, they'd be happy he got his just rewards for joining Reliance in the first place," Claire said, mouth pressed into a grim line.

"It's not fair," Hilton murmured. "Cenric didn't know, but…"

"Life's not fair," said Claire, unintentionally echoing Lawrence. "Now," Claire went on, "we can stay around moping, or we can go do something about it," she said, standing up from the bench.

Hilton frowned but followed her.

My entire body felt numb. Was that really Cenric's family? No wonder he'd wanted to get as far away as possible. I was sick of them, and I only had to spend a couple minutes with them. I couldn't imagine what spending years with them would be like. And except for the youngest, they didn't even like him. The injustice of it all made me angry. Infuriated me. Cenric was out there suffering somewhere because he _saved_ us, and his family didn't even care.

Claire led us out of the museum's grassy park and onto the beach.

I stepped from the lawn onto the white sand. "Why is sand so hot—Ow!" I yelled, jumping from one foot to another. I followed Claire and Hilton as quickly as I could further into the beach, finally reaching the wet sand. I sighed in relief, burying my toes in it. Claire watched me with a raised eyebrow but didn't comment.

We walked up the shoreline in silence, each ruminating in our particular brand of bad mood. Groups of trainer battles happened around them, and we gave them all a wide berth. I spotted Claire watching them from the corner of her eye enviously.

"Hey, you!" shouted a voice, and a female swimmer stepped in front of us, pointing at Hilton. "I challenge you and your pokémon to a battle!"

"Me? Hilton asked incredulously, and she nodded. Hilton looked to Claire, who just sighed.

"Whatever. Your call," she said, stepping aside.

Hilton frowned for a moment, thinking it over. "Alright," he finally sighed, looking up at his opponent. "I accept." She clapped happily and retreated, leaving us enough room for a battle. Claire and I headed for the sand dunes that broke the museum's lawn from the beach. Hilton set his bags down a few yards behind him, while Claire set hers next to us on the warm dune.

The trainer watched me leave with confusion. Oh, now everything made sense. She thought _I_ was _his_ pokémon.

To her great surprise, Hilton pulled Drifblim's poké ball out from his shirt, releasing the sphere into the air in a clean arc. Drifblim appeared in a flash of red light.

The trainer girl, shrugged, grinning at the change of event. She grabbed a shrunken poké ball off her wrist and tossed it into battle.

"Go, tentacruel!" she called, and the horrifying monstrosity materialized in front of Drifblim. I scooted back, eager to be as far away as I could from that beast.

"Tentacruel, use Bubble Beam!" she commanded.

"Drifblim, dodge it and use Hex!" Hilton commanded.

By expelling a gust of air, Drifblim managed to avoid the jet of bubbles. She began to glow purple and black, and second later a similar aura surrounded Tentacruel. Drifblim shot two balls of purple fire at her immobile opponent that exploded in a shower of violet flames. I heard Claire grumble something under her breath as she watched to battle unfold.

' _You know, you don't have to sit here to watch,'_ I said, fed up with her squirming. Claire pushed herself back off the dune, wiping the sand off her butt before pacing over to Hilton. With a sigh, I followed.

He glanced back at us while Drifblim dodged another attack.

"Tentacool evolve at level thirty, so just trying to win by brute force won't work," Claire said. "Tentacruel is faster than Drifblim, but you've got more hit points. If you keep using Payback, you can win," she added.

"You sure?" Hilton asked.

Claire nodded. "You've just got to let Drifblim take the hits to get Payback's boost," she said.

"Hey, Drifblim! Stop dodging!" Hilton called, and another spray of bubble sent her spiraling backward. "Now use Payback!" Hilton commanded. Drifblim righted herself and began to glow a lighter purple, she launched bolts of purple energy at the tentacruel, who was unable to avoid the attack do to being land bound.

"Tentacruel, use Acid!" the swimmer called.

The water-type opened its curved beak, spraying a stream of steaming black goo at Drifblim. "Take the hit!" Hilton called, and Drifblim stood her ground, letting the acid wash over her body. It started to steam. "Alright, use Payback again!" Hilton shouted.

Drifblim spun around, trying to loosen some of the acid from her body. She faced the tentacruel and began to glow again.

"Tentacruel, dodge it!" the swimmer shouted. The tentacruel threw himself back, trying to escape, but in the processes revealing his tender underbelly. Drifblim's bolts struck head on, sending her large opponent tumbling back.

The three of us waited withheld breath. The tentacruel didn't move.

Claire grinned, clapping Hilton on the back. "Way to go!" she said.

"All thanks to you, " Hilton said with reverence. "How do you know all that stuff?" Claire shrugged. "Well, the whole type advantage/resistance thing is easy, but memorizing every pokémon's strongest and weakest stats is hard. I'm just glad I remembered Tentacruel's," she said. "Drifloon—I mean Drifblim has gotten a lot stronger, Hilton. You should be proud," Claire said, observing the pokémon floating several yards in front of us.

"I am," Hilton said, beaming at his pokémon. The swimmer girl came over, frowning and thrusting a wad of wet cash at Hilton.

He took it in surprise, looking from it to the trainer. "T-thanks," he stammered.

The swimmer sighed and scratched her blonde head. "Sorry I was such a bad sport. Next time you're on the beach, we should battle again," she said, offering her hand.

Hilton took it tentatively, shaking it. "S-sounds good," he managed.

"Alright then, see 'ya later," she said, waving and walking back over to tend to her own pokémon.

"C'mon Drifblim, let's get you to the Pokémon Center," Hilton called, but his pokémon didn't move. Cocking his head, Hilton walked up to Drifblim, circling around her. "Hey, buddy, are you alright?"

Claire and I followed after only to watch Drifblim begin to inhale enormous amounts of sand. With a yelp, Hilton jumped back.

"What is she doing?" Hilton called over the sucking noise.

"I think she's trying to learn Swallow," Claire called, brown hair flying in every direction. "Does she know Spit Up or Stockpile?" she shouted.

Hilton shook his head. "I don't think so!"

"Then get her to stop!" Claire shouted back.

Hilton inched around his pokémon, coming in from the side and wrapping his arms around Drifblim's ever-expanding head. "It's alright buddy, you don't have to worry about it!" Hilton shouted.

Drifblim's inhalation decreased slowly until she stopped. She exhaled, releasing a large mound of sand beneath him.

"Well, that was something," Claire said, patting down her hair. Hilton readjusted his mask, stepping back from Drifblim. Claire walked over to him. "Swallow, Spit Up, and Stockpile are often used in combination, and they aren't nearly as effective alone. It'd be better for her to keep the moves she has," she explained.

"Is there anything about pokémon you don't know?" Hilton asked incredulously.

Claire grinned, pushing her bangs out of her face. "Oh, a few things," she said. "Hey, you guys!" shouted a male voice from behind us.

A portly fisherman jogged up to the four of us, breathing heavily. He bent over to catch his breath for a moment before popping back up with a large smile.

"Hey, you guys are trainers, right?" he asked, looking past Claire and Hilton to look and Drifblim and I. Before our humans could confirm, the man plowed on. "We're starting a couple rounds of triple battles over there," he said, pointing to a stretch of beach behind him where a group of trainers was gathered.

Claire's face brightened for a moment before immediately falling into a frown. "I-we only have one pokémon each right now," she said. "Is there any way we could…?"

The man sighed, taking off his orange cap and ruffling his hair. "Ah, bummer. I'm afraid not. We spent all morning doing single and double battles," he admitted. "Maybe next time, though," he said, waving and heading back towards his posse.

Claire grumbled, kicking a seashell out into the waves. "I love triple battles," she mumbled, thrusting her hands back into her pockets and stalking back over to the sand dune to grab the bags we'd dropped.

After thanking Drifblim again, Hilton withdrew her, and we proceeded down the shoreline. We passed the spattering of triple battles, and Claire watched them bitterly.

"If Reliance didn't take my strongest pokémon I'd…" she grumbled, trailing off into inaudibility.

"Do you think Lawrence is okay?" Hilton suddenly asked. Claire raised an eyebrow, slowing her pace. Hilton broke off, facing the ocean with his back to us. "I mean, Reliance is after legendaries…"

Claire sighed, running a hand through her hair. "You said he's done this before, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then don't worry about him. We've got enough problems as is," she said, reaching into her pocket. She frowned, digging through it and finding it empty. "Hey, can I see your—where's your backpack?" she asked, looking around.

Hilton stiffened. "Oh Arceus, I left it back there!" he said, spinning around and jogging back along the beach.

Claire groaned and walked after him. We followed him back to the site of the battle, and he shouted in dismay. The water was lapping at his backpack, and objects were strewn across the shoreline.

"Really, Hilton?" Claire mumbled, helping him gather his possessions. I followed them onto the wet sand, digging my hands into the muck in an attempt to pry his wallet out. A wave barreled into me, and the surprise of it all almost threw me back. Frowning, I picked up Hilton's wallet, trying to rid it of some of the water and sand.

Hilton sat on the dry sand behind us, inventorying his items. I handed him his wallet, and he visibly relaxed.

"Thanks, Noël!" he breathed, adding the damp wallet to the pile. "I think I managed to get—oh no…"

"What now?" Claire moaned, rubbing her forehead.

"I can't find the house key," Hilton said, jumping to his knees and digging around through the sand.

"What?" Claire cried.

"I can't find the house key," Hilton repeated, throwing handfuls of sand to the side.

"Oh my god, you didn't. You lost Sage and Elliot's key‽ Hilton, how are we supposed to get back in the apartment?" she asked, making sweeping gestures.

"How about instead of snapping at me, you help me look for it?" Hilton said with an edge to his voice. Claire rounded on him, pointing an accusing finger.

"Oh no no no, you're not pinning this on me," she said, glaring at him.

' _Hey, how about we look over there,'_ I suggested, stepping between them.

"If you would actually listen for once, you would know I'm not trying to "pin it on you"," Hilton said with air quotes.

Claire actually laughed at that. "Oh, you want to go there? You really want to go there? Listen for once? How about the past five years when you wouldn't leave me alone‽" she asked, throwing her hands into the air.

Hilton stood to his feet, brushing past me. "You're really bringing this up now?" he asked, tearing the mask off his face and throwing it to the side. The right side of his face was flushed crimson in anger.

"Why are you even here, Hilton? Why not just go back to the hospital where you won't get in the way?" Claire spat.

Hilton laughed at that, glaring at her. "Oh, I dunno. Maybe because you _need_ help. But you're just too pig-headed to accept it!" Hilton accused.

' _Guys, we're drawing attention_ ,' I said, looking nervously towards the beachgoers that observed from a distance. Could they see Hilton's mutations?

"Help? Help!" Claire shouted. "Like you've found any leads recently! And sure, losing the house key was a big help. Thank for that, Hilton. I don't know where I'd be without you. Oh, wait—yes I do! Back at the apartment!" she said, feigning a look of surprise.

"No, do you know where you'd be without me?" Hilton hissed, stepping close and jabbing an accusatory finger at her sternum. "Chained to that flooding base, crying and alone."

Claire's eyes widened, and she stumbled back by the spite in his words. Her eyes narrowed and her lip curled. "Please, everyone knows the only reason you saved me is because of your freaky obsession," she whispered venomously.

"Arceus!" Hilton shouted, throwing his arms into the air. "How could I have ever cared about such a pigheaded, stubborn, close-minded, emotionally constipated robot!" he shouted, backing away from her. "I might as well save myself the trouble and date Cyan!" he yelled, grabbing his backpack and storming down the beach.

Claire began to chase after him with hands balled into fists, but I held her back.

"That disgusting, delusional—Let go of me, Noël!" she snapped, struggling under my grip.

' _No way,'_ I said, holding her firm.

"Noël, release me! Listen to me, I'm your trainer," she commanded, still trying to pull away.

' _Nope,'_ I said. ' _Not until you calm down. Then we can go hunt down Hilton and—'_

"Please, if I never see his disgusting face again, I can die happy," she said and stopped fighting me. She clenched her fists, but I could still feel her tensed muscles. She took a breath, "Let me go Noël, we've got a key to find," she said, voice calm albeit with a rough edge.

Cautiously, I let her go. She rubbing her arms where I'd held her, then sunk to her knees, searching around the sand with her fingers.

I sighed. Why did humans always have to make things so complicated? I looked out across the choppy ocean. Dark clouds rolled towards us, still distant on the horizon. And everything had been going so well.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** So we started with a nice afternoon out, before things went sour. What did you think about Cenric's family? Thoughts on Claire and Hilton's argument? Some pretty low blows on both sides.


	36. Shadows

**Chapter 36: Shadows**

 **(***)**

Streams of warm gulf air washed over Lawrence's smooth body. Five-thousand feet beneath him, white-crested waves breached against the multiple patches of green that dotted Hoenn's eastern sea. He righted himself, allowing the full strength of the sun to beat on and be absorbed by his back. He swore the tips of his wings had been cold ever since Sinnoh, but now the oppressive chill was finally leaving because he'd made it back home.

He arced left, heading back towards Slateport. Although Noël's outburst still irritated him, he almost felt a sense of pride that the young pokémon had finally grown enough of a spine to stand up for himself when it counted.

On his trip, he'd learned some very interesting things, but he, loathe as he was to admit it, needed help. Enraged as he was at Reliance, he wasn't naive enough to think he could take them alone. Hopefully, the two humans could enlist the League's aid—traitors or no. They were going to need all the help they could get. Lawrence couldn't help the feeling of deep foreboding that invaded his bones. They were quickly approaching the breaking point. Something big was on the horizon, and he doubted anyone was prepared for it.

A shadow fell on him, causing him to frown. That was strange. By now monitoring the clouds during flight was second nature. He was traveling much faster than the storm headed towards Slateport, and he didn't remember-Lawrence looked up, eyes widening.

A figure floated above him, surrounded by a halo of sunlight.

"You?" he sputtered. "What are you doing back in Hoenn?" Lawrence asked, eyes narrowing. Deoxys hovered wordlessly, watching Lawrence with its constricted pupils.

"Go back to where you came from before Rayquaza involves himself," Lawrence said, trying to sound unconcerned and fly past him. Deoxys floated down, blocking his path.

"What do you want?" Lawrence asked impatiently. Its arms began to uncoil, and horns began to change position. Its skin began to morph, sliding over its body and making its extraterrestrial origin clear.

Lawrence backed away, unable to fight his growing trepidation. Deoxys had always been a loose cannon, and with a completely alien thought processes, it was difficult to reason with.

Deoxys—now in Attack Forme-watched him, unmoving.

Lawrence opened his mouth to at least attempt to make it see reason, but Deoxys flashed blue and snapped out of existence.

An icy pain slashed across Lawrence's back, sending him spiraling downwards. He managed to right himself just in time to see Deoxys teleport in front of him, whipping him across the face with a pair of glowing tendrils. Lawrence flew backward, barely managing to cast Protect in time to see Deoxys teleport to the left, its arms colliding with the glowing barrier.

Lawrence gasped for breath, feeling the where dark-type attacks had struck him, draining his psychic power. What was that? Pursuit? Deoxys circled the barrier, lashing out at it. Checking for weaknesses.

Deoxys began to glow light blue, and it coiled its arms together, raising them above its head then slamming it down on the barrier. It rippled like a bubble about to pop.

Lawrence gasped at the impact, putting all his strength into maintaining the barrier. Deoxys hovered back, watching Lawrence.

Arceus, was he going to try to wait him out? He couldn't maintain the shield forever. Lawrence could fly faster than a jet plane, but he knew he couldn't outrun Deoxys, not when it had Teleport. Maybe he could hold on long enough for Rayquaza to—Deoxys vanished.

Lawrence's eyes widened, and he spun around, frantically scanning the sky for signs—

A hard blow hit him on the back of his skull, causing sparks to dance across his field vision. Vaguely, he felt his hold on Protect slip. Darkness began to close in on all sides, and he distantly felt the sensation of falling.

He looked up as his vision faded, seeing a dark form descend on him. The world went black, and only one thought filled Lawrence's failing mind.

" _He teleported inside Protect…"_

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** _Five little Indian Boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four._

Did I say earlier we had the last Lawrence short? I wasn't even trying to fool you guys I just completely forgot this existed. So what's up with Lawrence and Deoxys? Theories? Also, out of curiosity to those reading chapters as I release them: how much longer do you think the story has left?


	37. Ravvivando

**Chapter 37: Ravvivando**

 **(***)**

Claire and I sat next to each other on the beach, surrounded by piles of upturned sand, and watched the tide slowly recede. The dark clouds rolled over us ominously, driving most of the tourists off the shore.

"What are we going to do, Noël?" Claire asked, laying backward to stare at the clouds. "Knowing Sage and Elliot, that was probably their only spare key," she moaned, not caring about the amount of sand collecting in her tousled hair.

' _Shouldn't they have a key with them?'_ I asked, absently digging a little hole in the sand. At least Claire was angry anymore, as the clouds rolled in, her rage had been replaced with exhaustion.

"Who knows when they're getting home, but it's worth a shot," she said, pushing herself up and grabbing at her Holo Caster with sandy fingers. Just as she reached for the first button, it began to vibrate.

"Oh, hey! It's them," Claire mumbled, accepting the call. A holographic bust of Sage appeared before us.

"Claire!" she shouted, causing us both to wince. Claire turned the volume down several notches. Sage looked at us with wide eyes before glancing back over her shoulder. He brown hair flew in every direction, and it looked like she had…ash? Smudged across her cheek.

"Sage, what's wrong! Where are you‽" Claire asked, clutching her Holo Caster with both hands.

"They're on the ship! They're going to sabotage the Poké Festival!" she shouted, and a loud boom echoed from behind her, causing a flurry of static.

"Sage! Talk to me!" Claire said, as the image of her sister reformed.

"Don't trust the police! Don't trust the League!" she shouted, looking over her shoulder again. Her eyes widened. "Elliot!" she screamed, and the line went dead.

Claire stared at the space her sister had been with shock for a moment before jumping to her feet. She grabbed her backpack and sprinted down the beach.

' _Claire! Where are we going?'_ I shouted, running after her.

"To the docks!" she shouted back, reaching for her Holo Caster and dialing a number while running.

' _To save your siblings or to stop Reliance?'_ I asked, finally managing to catch up with her.

"Both!" she said, and I heard her Holo Caster begin to ring. We ran up the wooden stairs to the museum's lawn as the first few droplets of rain began to fall.

Claire Holo Caster clicked, and a mechanical voice rung out. "The number you've reached is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after—"

Claire cursed ending the call and trying again.

' _I thought Sage said the League wasn't trustworthy!'_ I said as we ran down the manicured lawn. The line in front of the museum had vanished now, leaving only wet pavement in their place.

"That's why I'm calling Hilton, but he won't answer," she said, scowling. "God, Hilton this is an emergency!"

' _Maybe his C-Gear is dead?'_ I suggested hopefully. Claire just scowled, barreling down to the end of the street and rounding the corner onto the sidewalk. We fought our way past people in raincoats and umbrellas. Both of us were already soaked to the bone, but we didn't care. My breath felt hot and stifling, and all I could think about was what we could be walking into.

"You know Teleport would be real helpful right now!" Claire said, evading a throng of tourists.

' _I told you I can't even remember how!'_ I called back, hurtling over a stroller. People stared and shouted at us as we ran past, some upset, some just curious.

"There! The ship is docked at the end of this street!" Claire managed through labored breathing, pointing to the advertisement. She slowed to a halt, doubling over to catch her breath. I barely managed to avoid a collision.

"Where's the fire?" asked a curious man passing by.

"Do you know what time the ship leaves?" Claire asked through labored breaths.

"What the S.S. Tidal? Well, they've been boarding since this morning, so I'd guess they'd be embarking pretty soon," he said, holding his umbrella over us. "Good 'ole Briney will probably try to get around the storm. I'm afraid it might be too late to buy a ticket," he said sympathetically.

"Thank you!" Claire managed, and took off again. I groaned but jogged after her.

The dock was a stretch of long, abandoned concrete with black crashing waves on either side. In the distance at the end stood a flat building, the ship's terminal.

' _I see it!'_ I called, pointing to the large white ship in the distance with its orange smoke stacks. As it began to rain harder, the world grew greyer. I saw a flash of purple in the distance as we neared the terminal.

"That looks like a battle! Get ready, Noël!" Claire called as we neared the dark figures ahead.

I extended my elbow blades, imbuing them with psychic power with Swords Dance. A jet of crimson flames rocketed past us, momentarily illuminating the battle.

I yelped in surprise, pulling Claire out of the way. Arceus, was that-‽

"Drifblim, use Payback!" Hilton called, and the large shape began to glow purple again, giving us enough time to reach his side.

Hilton and Drifblim faced off against Alimer—Cyan's red-haired crony—and his Arcanine while Palmer hung back closer to the ship's terminal. The massive cruise ship rocked on the rough waters.

Drifblim released bolts of psychic energy struck Alimer's arcanine, but the mammoth pokémon seemed unaffected, growling at us.

"Is that all you've got?" Alimer called over the rain, laughing.

' _Claire, the ship is moving!'_ I hissed, pointing to the colossal ship that was slowly slipping away.

"Hilton, Reliance is on that ship and they might have my brother and sister, and-" Claire paused, stiffening.

I glanced over, trying to understand the cause of her tension when—oh. Back behind Hilton's battle stood Cyan in the nook of the terminal's doorway. She talked to another woman I didn't recognize.

"Hilton, I need you to try and hold back Alimer while we go after Cyan," Claire said, taking off in her direction.

"Hey, Arcanine, stop her!" Alimer shouted.

"Drifblim, use Ominous Wind!" Hilton shouted, and Drifblim whipped the wind into a storm, creating a barrier between Arcanine and Claire. I spirited after my trainer, overtaking her. My mind raced, and my arms began to tingle with energy.

Cyan spotted us, quickly tossing a poké ball. Frosslass materialized in my path, and I felt the temperature plummet ten degrees. The woman Cyan had been speaking to scuttled backwards for shelter.

"Frosslass, use Hail!" Cyan ordered. Oh, shi-!

The ice-type began to glow blue, floating up into the sky. The black thunderclouds began to swirl above our battlefield. With a clack, the first piece of hail hit the ground. Golf-ball sized rocks of ice showered down on us. I ran back to defend Claire, but she had already hoisted her bag above her head in a barely passable means of protection.

"Eyes on the battle, Noël!" Claire shouted above the rain and hail. The ice beat down on me, smashing into my arms and shoulders. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. I pounded down on my head, every impact sending sparks flooding across my vision. I felt the back of my head begin to crackle. I tried to ignore my personal plight to focus on the battle at hand.

Frosslass's breath came out in icy puffs, and the rain of hail didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. Another Flamethrower blasted over my shoulder, and I whipped around to see Arcanine slowly advancing on Drifblim and Hilton. Had Hilton had time to Drifblim heal since the battle on the beach?

"Frosslass, use Ominous Wind," Cyan shouted, devoid of passion. My head snapped back in the direction of the battle. My eyes widened and I sprinted to the left, knowing exactly what was coming.

Froslass's eyes began to glow, and she opened her mouth to release and a hurricane of black wind. The maelstrom combined with the hail, turning them into deadly projectiles. Despite my efforts to dodge, the vortex grew to consume me, trapping me inside swirling darkness.

My chest thrummed as I tried to predict and dodged the hail, but it was too numerous and too fast. It collided with my body, shattering at the force of the impact. I shouted in pain, falling to my knees and trying to protect my head. The ghost-type energy sapped and my strength.

With a loud "whoosh" the storm dispersed, leaving me huddling on the concrete with piles of hail. My body screamed, and I could already feel the large hail caused welts began to bruise. Consciousness slipped from me, but I managed to hold on by a thread.

As sparks played across my vision, humming power filled my arms as they began to glow light blue. My heart throbbed in my ears as I stared up into the Frosslass's soulless eyes.

Claire shouted something, but I didn't hear. The uncontrollable energy battled with my exhaustion, leaving me in a fiery delirium. My entire body felt like it was burning, all culminating at the back of my head and forearms.

Screaming, I rose to my feet, clawing at the air. Slivers of psychic energy launched from my arms towards Frosslass, who dodged easily.

My eyes widened as I panted in exhaustion. What in the—

"Noël, use Heal Pulse!" Claire shouted, and I could finally hear her over the sound of my own breathing.

I directed my energy over my palms and out into a sphere. I allowed the healing energy to flow back over me, healing my bruise and replenishing a fraction of my energy. My legs stopped shaking, and my breathing evened.

"Noël, use Psycho Cut again!" Claire shouted. What? Was that what—

"Frosslass, use Ominous Wind!" Cyan repeated. No! It'd knock me out for sure! I couldn't—

Before Frosslass could conjure another storm, a new figure sliced through the clouds, rocketing towards us, and pulling up short at the last moment.

"Noël, get out of there!" Claire screamed. "That's Deoxys!" she shouted. With the remaining strength in my limbs, I sprinted back to her side, stumbling on the hail and falling to the ground where the chunks of ice ground against my body.

A pair of pointed legs appeared before me, I looked up to see Deoxys standing over me, examining me with its narrow pupils.

It raised its tendrils, and I tried to crawl away, but it stepped forward and onto my arm, pinning me down. I shouted at the weight. It brought his arms down, and my world went black.

"Noël, Noël!" came Claire's voice through the darkness. Slowly I returned to consciousness, blinking slowly and trying to gather my bearings.

I looked around. Through blurred vision, I saw Deoxys return to Cyan's side, where Alimer and Palmer gathered. Cyan withdrew Frosslass and released her Xatu. Unable to move, we watched helplessly as they took off into the sky, soaring after the cruise ship that was just a spec in the distance now.

Groaning, I scraped up enough energy to use Heal Pulse on myself, if only to take the edge off of my throbbing head.

"They're getting away! We've got to go after them!" Claire said, pulling me to my feet. I leaned on her, barely able to support my own weight. My head felt heavy and my feet were leaden.

"Hilton, can Drifblim—" Claire broke off her statement with a gasp. Releasing me, she ran towards him. Barely standing, I looked up, searching for Hilton. My eyes locked on him and my breath caught in my chest.

He lay face down on the concrete road while the ocean roared on either side. Rain poured down on us and thunder crackled above. I gasped, the revelation causing me to sink to my knees. This was my vision. Realizing the implications, I staggered to my feet, running over to Hilton where Claire already kneeled beside him, rolling him over.

"Oh god," Claire mumbled, pressing her head against his soaked chest and searching for a heartbeat

I looked at him with horror. This couldn't be real. The human portion of his skin assumed a deathly pallor, and blood poured down from his nose, dripping into his agape mouth. His glasses lay several feet away, broken in three pieces.

"He's breathing!" shouted Claire. She held his face, crouching over him. "Hilton, Hilton can you hear me?" she yelled.

"Hilton? Hilton Nicolson?" came a tentative voice from behind. My head snapped around to see the woman Cyan had been talking to hovering several feet behind us.

"Stay back! Haven't you done enough‽" Claire shouted. I pulled myself to my feet, extending my elbow blades in preparation for a fight.

The woman wiped her dripping hair out of her face, folding her hands under her arms and stepping forward.

"I don't know what just happened, but my name is Monica Denisov, I was supposed to be on that cruise ship," she said over the rain. "I'm friends with Nicolsons! You have to believe me!" she said.

Claire laughed at that. "Wow, Reliance is really running out of tricks if they're desperate enough to try this. Why don't you just take us by force? It's not like we could fight you right now," she spat, glancing over at Drifblim's unconscious body for a moment.

"I don't have any pokémon on me," she insisted. "And I don't know who those people were, but I've watched that boy run around in diapers before, and if we don't get him out of this rain he might die," she shouted. "My house is right there! You just have to trust me!" she insisted, pointing to a house at the other end of the terminal.

' _Do you want me to take her out?'_ I asked Claire, not fully convinced I had the energy for that anyways.

Claire narrowed her eyes, examining Monica. _'We can't make it back to the apartment without the key, and if both the League and the police are corrupt, the hospital could be too,'_ she said.

' _So what do we do?'_ I asked, keeping my elbow blades extended and my eyes locked on Monica.

' _I don't know.'_

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** _Four little Indian Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three._

 **Fun Fact** : Level-wise, Cyan's froslass is stronger than Lawrence.


	38. Lu

**Chapter 38: Luftpause**

 **(***)**

A flustered Monica threw towels down on the couch, while Claire and I dragged Hilton towards it.

"Luna! Luna!" Monica shouted, cupping her hands. "Arceus, where is she?" she muttered, turning back to us and helping arrange Hilton on the couch. "We've got to get him to a hospital!" she said, frowning before turning around to shout back into the house. "Luna! Where are you‽"

Hilton groaned from the couch, and Claire and I jumped to his side.

"Hilton, are you alright? We might have to risk a hospital visit," she mumbled. Hilton blinked slowly, trying to push himself up, but his arms couldn't support his weight.

Monica scurried out from down the hall, heading for Hilton.

"Mrs. Monica? What are you…Where am I? What happened?" he asked with a hoarse voice, wrinkling his nose. Claire narrowed her eyes, stepping between Monica and Hilton. I joined her, trying to sense any malicious intent.

"Wait, you actually do know her?" Claire asked incredulously.

Hilton nodded. "Yeah, she was a friend of my mom's…Why is she here?"

"Hilton, what happened to you…" Monica murmured, peering around Claire and myself.

"It's a long story," Hilton managed.

Mrs. Denisov nodded, "Okay, well just stay on that couch, okay?" she said. "I'm going to put on some soup, and after dinner, we need to take Hilton to the hospital," she said.

"What? I feel better already!" Hilton insisted. Preemptively, Claire put a hand on his chest, pinning him down.

"I just got a little scared and passed out is all!" he said.

I narrowed my eyes, surveying him. He was hiding something from us. Lightning flashed outside, followed by booming thunder.

Monica sighed, rubbing her freckle-dusted forehead. She pushed a copper hair behind her ear, covering the several strands of grey that sprouted from her temples.

"I didn't know you lived in Slateport," Hilton said, looking around the beige house, decorated with beach motifs.

"Well, you have been on your pokémon journey for the last couple of years," she reminded him gently.

"Why were you talking with Cyan?" Claire cut in, voice harsh.

"I'm a co-ordinator," she said, pointing to the framed ribbons on the wall. "I was invited to take the S.S. Tidal up to Sootopolis, but when we were practicing yesterday Luna hurt her ankle."

Wait…Luna was a pokémon?

"I thought it'd be best if we stayed here for a few more days to see if she'd get better," Monica continued. "I went down to the dock to tell them I couldn't make it, but it was already pulling out. I saw the blonde woman there and decided to see if she was staff, and that's when you showed up," the red-haired woman finished.

Claire frowned, still unsatisfied, but before she could raise more objections, Monica walked over the bathroom, bring out more towels and handing them to us.

I gratefully took it, beginning to wipe off my soaking body.

"I'm going to call the neighbors to see if Luna's over there then put the soup on," she said. "We've got a lot to talk about," Monica finished, looking to Hilton, who nodded and watched her head for the kitchen.

"How long have I been out?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Claire asked.

Hilton frown, closing his eyes and straining to recall those memories. "Ummm, we were at the port and…you were fighting Cyan and it started to hail and…I was fighting Alimer and we lost and then…" he broke off, frowning again.

With a sigh, Claire sank onto the couch by Hilton's legs and I placed myself on the hardwood floor, trying to mop up the puddle I'd made while standing.

Claire turned to look at Hilton. "Do you need anything?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head. "I don't think so…oh, my glasses maybe?" he asked hopefully.

"Sorry, they broke when you…"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Hilton shifted, wrapping himself up in one of the towels draped over the couch. "Well, thanks anyways…" he said.

"Yeah," Claire said awkwardly, averting her eyes.

"How did you find me?" Hilton asked, breaking the silence.

Claire glanced up to make sure Monica wasn't listening. She looked back to Hilton. "Sage and Elliot. They called and told me Reliance was going on the ship to sabotage the Poké Festival," she murmured.

"What‽ That's why they were there?" Hilton cried, sitting up to fast for Claire to stop him. "Where are your brother and sister now?" he asked, looking around Monica's empty home.

"I don't know," Claire whispered, staring blankly at the couch cushion. "Probably on the ship."

"Well, what are we going to do? We've got to stop—" he gasped, turning his wide eyes on Claire. "We've got to warn Mrs. Allen!"

Claire's brows pressed down at that. "Sage told me not to trust anyone. She said the police and the League have been corrupted, and if Independence is working with the League…" she trailed off.

Hilton actually laughed at that. "You honestly think Mrs. Allen wants to destroy her own Festival? It's ridiculous! Besides, Independence _hates_ Reliance remember? Don't be so paranoid," he said, reaching for his C-Gear.

Claire caught his wrist. "Hilton, I'm just saying we need to think this through, and—"

Hilton jerked his wrist away, rolling his eyes. "Claire, people could die because of this. I won't not call her just because suspicious of everyone," he said, breaking off into a cough before dialing a number.

The C-Gear rang, and Claire scowled. After the third ring, Ms. Allen answered. Her image flashed on the screen. She was wearing the same black blouse as last time we called, and her hair was pulled back into a pristine ponytail. She looked better in the breezy shirts and loose braid she wore in Castelia, but fashion was fashion I suppose.

"Hilton!" she called happily. "It's good to see you again. Are you still in Slateport?" she asked.

Hilton nodded. "Yeah, but Ms. Allen! Reliance is coming to sabotage the Poké Festival!"

"What?" She asked, face twisting in confusion.

"It's true! We were fighting with them at the pier, but the ship got away. Oh, and they have Deoxys on their side now!" he said, voice full of urgency.

Ms. Allen's smile fell, and she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "That's not good news. Thank you for telling me, Hilton! But Sootopolis is very safe," she assured.

"Are you listening?" Hilton cried. "They have legendaries and they're coming for you!"

"Hilton, sweetheart," she said smiling kindly. "Sootopolis is a natural fortress, and we've been preparing for a situation like this. I'd be very difficult for anyone to stop us."

"We've got to stop that cruise ship!" Hilton demanded. "If you won't—"

"Hilton, you can't come to Sootopolis yet," she said, trying to calm him down. "You know the city is blocked off until the Poké Festival for just that reason, and I'm afraid I can't bend those rules. Not even for you," she said sympathetically.

"Command-!" started a voice from off screen, but Ms. Allen twisted around to glare at whoever it was. The harshness of her expression was shocking. She turned back to us, retrieving that placid smile she's worn before like nothing had happened.

"I'm afraid I have a few guests to attend to, Hilton," she said.

"But Ms. Allen-!" Hilton started.

"Hilton, your concern is touching, but I can handle myself. Just stay in Slateport and feel better, alright?" she said, and before Hilton could object again, she ended the call.

Hilton scowled, starting to call her back.

"See? She can handle herself," Claire said.

Hilton grumbled something under his breath before dialing another number.

"Hello, Maylene?" he called, and the pink-haired gym leader flashed on the screen.

"Hilton, you know the League's been corrupted. It's not safe," Claire hissed, elbowing him. He nudged her away, scowling. "This is Maylene we're talking about. She's clean, I promise," Hilton said. Claire withdrew, watching him with a frown.

"Hilton!" Maylene shouted, and something exploded in the background.

"What was that‽" he cried.

Maylene ducked behind a stack of crates. "We're in the middle of a base raid, can this wait?" she hissed, looking over her shoulder at the scrambling figures behind her.

"Reliance is going to sabotage the Poké Festival!" Hilton said. "They're on the S. now!"

"What?" Maylene asked, eyes wide. "Of course they are!" she said, smacking her forehead.

"You've got to send help!" Hilton begged voice raw and grating.

"I can't, Hilton! Don't you understand?" Maylene snapped. "Gym leaders are disappearing left and right! And we don't know who's been kidnapped and who's betrayed us! I'll see if I can find anyone I trust and head over there, but it might be a couple of days. See if you can—" Something flashed behind her, and the line went dead.

"Maylene!" Hilton shouted, dialing her number again. The C-Gear rang, but no one answered. He tried three more times with no success.

"We've got to go to Sootopolis!" Hilton said, finally looking up at Claire.

' _Are you insane_ _‽_ _There's a literal boatload of Reliance grunts going to the exact same place! We can't take on that many grunts!'_ I cried.

"Well, if not us, who?" Claire finally asked, running a tired hand through her dripping hair. "The International Police is working for Reliance, and the League might be too. Reliance has agents everywhere. It's not like we can go out and just scout people to join us on a suicide mission," Claire said bitterly.

"You wouldn't have to stop them," a voice said. The three of us looked up to see Monica leaning on the doorway. "All you—all _we_ have to do is delay them enough for the League to arrive," she said.

"We?" growled Claire.

"My husband is in Sootopolis. I've tried to call him several times these past few days. I assumed it was due to his nasty habit of leaving his Holo Caster on silent, but if Reliance is involved, I'm coming," Monica said.

"And…" Hilton said slowly, "We can warn all the Independence volunteers! Some of them are trainers, right? With their help, delaying Reliance might not be so difficult," he said, and Claire nodded.

' _So…we're going to Sootopolis?'_ I asked with a groan. I wished Lawrence was here. Why did he have to have another one of his tantrums and fly off?

"After all these years I've got a sizable collection of max revives stored up at the Pokémon Center," Monica said. "After dinner, I can go get them, and we can start preparing."

"After dinner? We need to leave now!" Hilton demanded.

Claire laughed at that. "Hilton, you can't even stand yet, Drifblim is unconscious, and Noël is at the end of his rope. We have to prepare if we want any chance of stopping Reliance."

Monica nodded, and for the first time that evening they were in agreement. "By boat, they should make it there around mid-morning. If we leave in the morning and fly there, we can beat them there," she said. "I wish I knew some other trainers we could bring with us, but all my friends are co-ordinators and they were on that ship," Monica said, biting a knuckle. "I can run to the Pokémon Center though. I've got revives and some other supplies stored there," she said, heading for the door. She grabbed a raincoat of the coat stand, swinging it over her shoulders.

"Oh, can you take Drifblim with you to get healed?" Hilton called, looking around for the poké ball. Claire dug it out of her pocket, handing it to Monica.

' _Can I go too?'_ I asked hopefully. Desperate to feel refreshed and back at full power.

"I'd rather you didn't, Noël," Claire said. "In case Reliance decides we're worth the trouble and comes back."

I frowned at that. _'How am I supposed to fight Reliance if I barely have the energy to stand?'_ I asked.

"I've got quite the store of max potions too. I promise we'll heal you up before we leave, Noël," Monica said. "Be safe, children. Oh, and watch the soup!" she added before stepping into the rainy night. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, shaking the house.

"Hopefully the storm clears up by morning," Claire mumbled, playing with her fingers.

Silence lapsed again, and I busied myself with vain attempts to dry off my soaking body. The ceiling fan whirred above us on Monica's high ceiling. Photos of her and her husband, and her at various contests dotted the walls. The rain pounded on the ceiling, broken by the sporadic rumbling of thunder. The smell of soup drifted in from the kitchen. There was a radio playing upstairs.

Without warning, Claire leaned over, pressing the back of her hand against Hilton's forehead. She jerked it back as if she'd been stung.

"Hilton! You're burning up!" she cried.

"Am I? Must've been because of that battle. Really got my heart going," he mumbled, playing with a string that hung from one of the towels.

Claire watched him with a skeptical gaze. "Why didn't you tell me," she finally asked, meeting Hilton's gaze.

"About what?" Hilton asked feigning innocence poorly.

" _You._ You _haven't_ been feeling better, have you? That's why you passed out...And all that time at the market, and the beach…I'm such an idiot," she said, groaning and leaning back on the couch.

My eyes widened. It all made sense now. He had seemed a little off at times, but with that ridiculous mask on…

Hilton averted his gaze. A nonverbal confirmation of her accusation. "I'm sorry," he finally said.

Claire snorted. "You? Sorry about what?"

"I should've told you I wasn't feeling well. After we saved you from the base, I know it really got to you, but you just pushed through it and I figured I could too..." he mumbled, meeting her gaze with sad eyes. His eyebrows pressed together, begging her to understand.

"Hilton," Claire said, shaking her head. "That was different. I was cold and scared. That's it. Your body is giving up on you. You can't compare the situations," she said.

"And I'm sorry about that dumb argument. And I'm sorry about the dumb things I said. And I'm sorry for losing the key. And—" he went on, bottom lip quivering, and face flushing red.

"You know," Claire murmured, silencing him. "Back at the cabin in Johto, I was pissed. I was angry at Reliance, angry at myself, and I was angry that you of all people had to be the one to save me," she said, and Hilton's face broke. I could feel how her words had pierced him. "But…" she continued, laying a hand on my shoulder. "You convinced Noël. He believed in you. He said you'd changed. I didn't believe him. I didn't believe him for a long time, Hilton. But now I do. In a weird way, I kind of like it more when your shouting at me than when you're idolizing me like you used to," she finished with a small smile, removing her hand from my shoulder and clasping Hilton's hands, squeezing them.

"I'm so sorry," Hilton whispered, tears beginning to stream down his face, following the mutated ridges and dripping down his neck. "I'm so so sorry. All those things I did to you back then—"

"Hilton, that was then. You've been through a lot these past few weeks. We all have. We've all changed. We're not who we were then," she murmured. "So let's put that behind us and focus on now, okay?" she said. Hilton watched her with wide eyes.

"So, let's start over," she said, releasing his hands and offering one of hers for a handshake. "My name is Claire. I'm a pigheaded, stubborn, close-minded, emotionally constipated robot," she said.

Hilton laughed, wiping away his tears with one hand and grabbing her hand with the other. "I'm Hilton, a dumb, naïve, delusional mutant."

"Well, Hilton, have you met my friend, Noël?" she asked gesturing to me.

Hilton nodded, looking at me with tear-filled eyes and smiling. "Yeah, I have. He's one of the strongest, and most courageous pokémon I know."

(***)

Monica stirred the soup. Apparently, we hadn't done a god job of watching it, but it was salvageable. Hilton and Claire snoozed on the couch. They'd fallen asleep, and I'd almost drifted off with them until Monica returned. She'd made quick work of healing me up, and I felt completely rejuvenated. I lamented for the umpteenth time that potions didn't work on humans, casting a glance back in their direction.

"Okay, so what needs to get done?" Monica mumbled to herself, why I watched her work from the kitchen table. "Dinner, showers, change of clothes, pack, sleep…" she continued, counting the tasks on her finger. "Oh, right!" she said, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing a glossy luxury ball.

Tossing it into the air, a brilliant figure materialized in the center of the kitchen. My eyes went wide and my mouth went dry.

"Ah, introductions! Noël, this is my partner, Lunette," Monica said, gesturing to the shiny gardevoir that now observed me with a curious gaze. I swallowed hard. Her eyes crinkled in amusement.

' _We've met before, haven't we?'_ She asked, cocking her head. The mega stone dangling from her neck twinkled. ' _You looked different then,'_ she added.

' _A lot happened,'_ I admitted.

"Oh, you guys have met?" Monica asked, nose crinkling in confusion as she tried to understand how.

' _Back at Castelia. He was a ralts then,'_ Lunette said, turning to her trainer.

"Ah, that fiasco," Monica said, frowning. "Anyways, Lunette, I need you to go around the house and start packing equipment. Anything you think we'd need for a big fight," Monica said, stirring the soup.

Lunette frowned at that. _'Ms. Monica, I will not allow you to put yourself in harm's way,'_ she said sternly. _'And who, exactly, are we fighting?'_

Monica waved her off. "Oh, just start packing. And take Noël with you. I'm sure he can fill you in," she said, lifting the spoon to her mouth to taste a portion.

With a sigh, Lunette swept out of the kitchen, dress fluttering behind her.

' _Are you coming?'_ She asked from the other room. Nodding, I followed her up the stairs.

' _So, tell me, Noël,'_ Lunette began, _'who exactly are we fighting?'_

We spent the next half hour together. Lunette scouring the house for revives, potions, and escape ropes while I trailed behind her, telling her the story of the last few weeks. She remained quiet during my retelling, only asking one or two questions throughout the story, but it was reassuring at least to know she was listening.

' _And then your trainer found us and helped us to the house. And… that's everything,_ ' I finished.

' _You've endured quite a lot',_ she said quietly, shifting through Monica's drawers for who knows what. ' _And you are still unable to use the full extent of your psychic powers from that accident?'_ She asked, finally turning around to scan me.

I shrugged. ' _'It's not so bad since I evolved. No telempathy. My telekinesis is still weak. I don't even think my telepathy is as strong as it used to be,'_ I admitted. ' _But I've just kinda gotten used to it.'_

' _May I see?'_ she asked.

I turned around, tilting my head forward slightly, so she could have a better look.

I felt her hand hovering over the cracked bone, centimeters away from brushing the fractured surface.

' _Would you allow me to try something?'_ she asked. ' _It may sting a little,'_ she forewarned.

' _Sure, but the Nurse Joy said there wasn't much that could be done,'_ I said, frowning. Lunette just hummed, placing four fingers lightly around my injury.

The back of my head crackles to life at the touch, spending spark shooting down my spine. Warm energy flooded in, numbing the sparks until they felt like a distant memory. Something in the back of my head writhed like a snake before clicking into place.

I gasped and the picture frames around me shattered, falling to the floor. I whipped around, grabbing Lunette by the upper arms. _'What did you do?'_ I gasped, eyes wide.

Tingling power flowed through me, giving me strength and control I hadn't felt since before the accident. It felt like the rubber band wrapped around my brain finally snapped, allowing the blood to invigorate the dying organ. I could feel each psyche in the house, and understand their emotions with minute details. Monica was downstairs, contemplative and slightly worried, trying the fight a deep-rooted sense of foreboding. I could even feel what Hilton and Claire were experiencing in their dreams!

I averted my attention back to Lunette, who regarded me with a cautious gaze. "What did you do?" I whispered aloud.

"I tried to realign your psychic pathways," she said slowly. "Though I was able to temporarily restore your power, the damage is more extensive than I thought. I will wear off," she said, frowning.

My smile fell, and my joys flickered out of existence like a snuffed candle. "Of course," I mumbled. "I knew it was too good to be true," I said. Lunette stepped towards me.

"I can't say how long it will last, but I should be able to renew the effects whenever I need to. You can be at full strength for our battle tomorrow," she promised.

"How come Latios couldn't do it? I mean, I don't mean to offend you, but isn't he a legendary?" I asked.

Lunette smiled. "I'm sure his physic powers far exceed mine, but he could never understand the delicate ways our minds our wired," she said simply. She picked up the now-full backpack with telekinesis and gestured with her head towards the stairs.

I followed her down and into the kitchen, where Monica was taking the soup pot off the hot burner.

"Ah, just in time!" she said. "Oh, and I hate to do this, but could you wake up Hilton and Claire for me, Noël? They need to eat, and I can't let them sleep in wet clothes," she said.

Nodding, I left Lunette's side and entered the living room. Crouching down, I placed a hand on Claire's knee, shaking it gently.

She moaned, blinking slowly and looking up at me with tired eyes. Her stirring caused Hilton to wake with an identical reaction.

' _It's time for dinner,'_ I said, grinning.

Claire pushed herself up from the sofa, and Hilton mimicked the action, knees popping.

In the warm kitchen, Monica placed the large pot of soup on the lazy susan. The steam rolled off the pot, collecting near the hanging light that lit the table. I held back with Lunette while the humans seated themselves.

"So Hilton tells me you managed to hunt down a Mega Stone for Noël in the marketplace," Monica said to Claire.

"Uh, yeah," she said lamely. "I haven't been able to try it yet," she said, looking over to me.

Monica nodded. "It's a little bit of a tricky process. I have a Mega Stone for Lunette for our contests," she continued, flashed the rainbow keystone on her ring that rested above her wedding band. "How about once this all blows over, I show you how to use it?" she asked. "I know the perfect spot for training on the beach. It's actually a little off Route 110, but the tourists never find it. It's Lunette and I's little secret," she added, grinning at her pokémon.

"Sounds great," Claire said. The conversation continued and though I had my doubts about Monica, but I found them slipping away with every childhood story about Hilton she'd brought up. Would Monica be able to hold her own against Reliance? A quick glance towards Lunette banished the thought. We needed all the help we could get if we wanted to stall Reliance.

Across the table, Hilton tried to hide a cough in his elbow.

If anyone should stay behind...

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** A little calm before the storm. Metaphorically speaking, because the storm is already there in a literal sense. What do you think of their decision to go and stall Reliance? What about the fact that Hilton literally has the leader of Reliance's cell number, but he has no clue? Who, if anyone, should stay behind?


	39. A Race to the End

**Chapter 39: A Race to the End**

 **(***)**

I paced around the living room, careful to avoid stumbling on the furniture and waking Hilton. The right side of his face was as white as a sheet, and covered in a sheen of sweat. Sometime in the middle of the night, he'd cocooned himself in the blanket, pulling it up to his chin.

Hushed voices came from the living room and Monica and Claire discussed our plans. I could feel their concern, but Lunette's realignment trick from last night was already beginning to fade, and I couldn't perceive their emotions with my former clarity. Soon the ability would be gone completely.

The night had passed too quickly, and even now I could see the gray dawn behind the clouds. Arceus must've looked favorably on our mission because there seemed to be a brief intermission in the ongoing storm. I picked up a backpack, overflowing with revives and status healers, and tiptoed past Hilton on the couch.

Nearing Monica and Claire, I overheard the first snippets of their conversation.

"And you've tried calling your siblings since then?" Monica asked in hushed tones.

Claire nodded, mouth pressed into a thin line. "But if they have been captured by Reliance and we manage to free them, they'll be a big help. They're both very strong," she whispered.

' _When are we going to wake Hilton up?'_ I asked, and they looked at me, before looking back at each other. _'What?'_ I asked with a frown, trying to read my trainer. _'What are you not telling me?'_

"We aren't bringing Hilton with us," Claire finally said.

I stumbled back, stunned. _'What do you mean?'_ I asked, wide-eyed.

"Have you seen him, Noël? He's getting worse. He's running a fever, and we both know it's not from a cold. What if he passes out while we're over the ocean? What he passes out in the middle of a battle?" Claire said, taking a worried glance towards Hilton.

I could see their point, but… _'He's wanted this just as badly as the rest of us,_ ' I said.

Claire shook her head. "It'd be dangerous for us to bring him along, and you know that Noël," she said.

'So what, we just leave and he wakes up to an empty house?' I said.

Monica picked up a piece of paper from the kitchen table. "We're leaving him a note, and he'll have Drifblim to protect him if anything goes wrong," she said.

"If everything goes well, we might not even be gone a full day. Besides, when the League arrives and beats Reliance for good, they can force them to undo the transformation and heal him," Claire reasoned, trying to stay positive.

Even I couldn't buy that, but what other choice did we have? _'I don't like this,'_ I said but shouldered the backpack anyway.

Silently, we slipped out of Monica's front door, lugging our bursting backpacks. Monica had her poké balls—three in total including Lunette's—clipped to her belt.

After closing the door behind her, she joined us on the street. Grey clouds rolled overhead, and the amount of humidity made the air felt tense and claustrophobic. No one walked on the sidewalks, and every light on the block was off save for a flickering street lamp across the barren street. Thunder rumbled in the distance, mixing with the faint sound of crashing waves. A wingull gave out a shrill cry above us.

Monica reached for two of her poké balls, unclipping them and tossing them into the air. A tropius and an altaria appeared on the street, regarding us with curiosity.

"Tropius belongs to a friend of mine. I asked to borrow him for our flight, since I figured you and Noël wouldn't be able to fit on Altaria with me," Monica explained.

Claire nodded, stepping forward to meet the large grass-type. It bent down, allowing her to stroke its lengthy neck. She proceeded to walk around, and position herself on his back.

I made a move to follow her, but Tropius glared at me. I put my hands into the air, waving them.

"I know, I'm sorry! But my poké ball was lost a few weeks ago," I said.

"Fine…" Tropius mumbled, allowing me access to his back. I scooted next to Claire, careful not to impale her with my chest fin. Nearby, Monica nestled herself between Altaria's cloud-like wings.

She looked to us, nodding. Claire reached back and squeezed my hand. I swallowed hard, and Tropius began to beat his wings.

"Here we go," mumbled Claire.

My stomach dropped as Tropius ascended, the warm air blew past us, and the air filled with the hum of Tropius's wings. Slateport flashed beneath us. We soared over the pier where we'd fought Cyan last night. It was deserted now, along with the rest of the city. Only a few solitary figures walked along the gray beach, and soon it was just a line in the distance as we zoomed over the black ocean. The water was too choppy to reflect anything back at us, and I didn't see any pokémon amidst the white caps today.

Slateport vanished behind us in a haze. I pulled as close to Claire as I dared, wrapping my arms around her torso to keep from falling off.

"How many hours is it going to take until we get there?" Claire called over the wind.

"About four if we can maintain this speed. Once we make it out of the storm, we should be able to go faster," Monica called back.

"Are you sure we'll beat the ship there?" Claire asked, brows knitting together in concern.

Monica nodded. "All the water from Slateport to Pacifidlog Town is too choppy for big ships to pass, they're going to have to take the long way around," she said

Partially satisfied, Claire turned back to stare at the water flashing beneath us. I sighed, leaning my head against her back. Were we ready for this? Sure, direct confrontation wasn't the plan, but I couldn't fight the fear twisting my intestines, and every mile we got closer to Sootopolis, the worse it got. Sure, we'd spent hours in trying to find a Reliance base, but now that we were actually going to confront them… I mean, before we'd found their bases on accident, or they'd found us, but now we were walking straight into a pair of open jaws.

My thoughts flashed back to last night. Cyan was frighteningly strong, and even her cronies proved to be adept fighters. Then of course, there was Deoxys to worry about…What was it doing with Reliance? Were they controlling it? My eyes widened. What if they were? Did that mean they'd found a way to control legendaries? Did they have control of Dialga, yet?

"Please, please, let us not be too late," I whispered in prayer to Arceus, and my words were stolen by the winds and carried up into the clouds. Hopefully, he was listening. I looked back, watched the water vanish into the gray horizon behind us. I couldn't tell whether a minute or an hour passed as the ever-changing-but-always-the-same seascape burned itself onto my retinas. A lone shape soared in the distance behind us. I squinted my eyes.

I tried to project my psyche that far, attempting to get some sort of read on it, but as I pushed my power, it erupted into loose sparks, and the connection fell. I cursed inwardly. Why couldn't Lunette's trick have lasted longer? I'd have to get her to redo it before we entered Sootopolis. I settled for watching the silhouette near. After several minutes, I recognized the form.

I elbowed Claire, and she twisted around in confusion, opening her mouth to speak. I just pointed to the approaching shape. Her eyes widened, and she let out a drained sigh.

"Stop!" she shouted, and Tropius slowed to a hover. Altaria arced back around, circling us from above.

"What's wro-?" Monica began to shout before she spotted the figure. Drifblim sailed towards us, cradling Hilton beneath her. Even from a distance, I could feel his anger, and as they flew close enough, his reddened face confirmed it.

Drifblim glided to a stop, hovering slightly above us so that Hilton was level with Claire and me.

"How could you do that to me‽" he shouted, lip curled in a snarl.

"Why did you follow us, Hilton?" Claire groaned. "You know it isn't safe."

"I don't care!" Hilton growled back, glaring at each of us in turn with betrayal written on his face.

"But we _do_ ," Claire insisted. "Hilton, we know you've been getting sicker. You have to go back to Slateport!" she said.

"Hilton, darling. Please listen to her," Monica added. "We're just worried about you," she said.

Hilton pulled close to one of Driblim's tails. "You'll have to knock both of us unconscious and drag us back," he hissed, eyes narrowed to slits.

Claire looked to me out of the corner of her eyes, as if she was considering his demand.

"Hilton, please," begged Monica. "We're just worried about you."

"And how do you think I feel?" he spat. "After all the pain Reliance has put me through, after everyone and everything they've taken from me, you seriously think I'm going to sit alone in an empty house while you risk your lives‽" he yelled. I shrank back at the force of his fury.

"I'm going to Sootopolis, whether it's together with you or alone. And if you take me back to Slateport, I'll just leave again, and again, and again," he said, voice harsh and raw. He ended his statement with a coughing fit.

Claire looked to me. "You wouldn't have to have some mind-control ability I don't know about, would you?" she mumbled.

I shook my head grimly. _'What are we going to do?'_

"It doesn't seem like he's giving us much of a choice," Claire said, scowling at Hilton. "It's your funeral," she growled, looking away from Hilton and nudging Tropius to continue. The grass-type surged forward and Monica and Hilton followed behind in stiff silence.

Whirlpools, atolls, and rocky islands passed beneath. I shuddered, wishing the omnipresent chill would leave me in peace for just a little while.

We eventually outran the storm clouds, but a blanket of ashy clouds still hovered overhead, blocking the sun. I lost myself in them, trying to make objects out of the amorphous shapes and forget the impending battle. Claire gasped. I would have even heard it over the wind if I haven't felt her ribcage expand at the sudden intake of air.

I looked over her shoulder in the distance. In a blue haze, I could make out a large island in the distance. My eyes widened. Was that Sootopolis?

No one said anything, be all eyes looked towards the island. As we neared, I realized that it wasn't just an island, it was a volcano. A massive volcano who's large white cliffs jetted into the sky. No wonder Mrs. Allen hadn't been concerned. The place was a fortress.

The landmass grew in size and clarity, and I observed the multiple dark shapes circling around the volcano's maw. One detached, headed for us.

Monica gestured for us to slow as the shape zoomed towards us. It was a uniformed officer, riding a golbat.

"Please turn back," he shouted over his megaphone, beginning to circle us. "Sootopolis is considered a restricted airspace for the next eight hours. Only those cleared by Sootopolis's head of security have permission to pass," he said.

"I'm one of the coordinators that's supposed to be performing during the opening ceremonies!" Monica called, digging around her bag and pulling out her ribbon's case.

"No pass, no entry," the man called.

"But we're friends of Ms. Allen's!" Hilton shouted up to him.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said, ignoring Hilton's claims.

"Can we at least land on the outside of the volcano? We just need to rest for a moment before heading back!" Monica called.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he just repeated.

"Please, sir! These are contest pokémon, not battling pokémon!" Monica insisted, gesturing to Altaria, Tropius, and myself. "They don't have the endurance to make it back with resting! You can watch us the whole time! I promise we just need a few minutes to catch our breath!" she insisted.

The man frowned, bringing his megaphone back up to his face. Before he could bark at us again, his walkie-talkie went off. He pointed to one of the rocky outcroppings surrounding Sootopolis. "You have five minutes, and my guards will be watching you the entire time. Don't even think about getting closer to the city," he said, flying off and answering his walkie-talkie.

Two other guards broke off from their ranks, flying behind us at a distance while we soared to the miniature island.

Tropius landed hard, and Claire and I tumbled off onto the chalky rock. Groaning, she pushed herself up, stretching her sore limbs.

Drifblim set Hilton down gently, and Altaria perched on the top, allowing Monica to slide off.

"What now?" Claire asked, running a hand through her hair.

Monica frowned, rubbing her chin. "I was hoping you'd have an idea. I managed to buy us a little bit of time, but they don't look they'll let us anywhere near the lip of the volcano," she said, pointing to the two guards that circled far above us like vultures.

Hilton, who'd thus far been silent, started pressing buttons on his C-Gear.

With a sigh, Monica reached for her last poké ball, releasing Lunette.

The gardevoir looked around in surprise, glancing upwards and quickly coming to grips with the situation. _'They refuse to let us inside the city,'_ she quickly surmised. I nodded. She turned from me, staring at the vast volcano. She cocked her head.

' _What is it?'_ I asked.

She turned, looking back at me. _'Do you feel anything?_ ' She asked, gesturing towards the volcano.

I shook my head. _'My telempathy is already starting to weaken,'_ I explained with embarrassment.

' _No…'_ she whispered, then broadening the channel of telepathy so everyone was included. _'I don't feel anything from the city,'_ she said.

"Well, we are a little far away," Claire said.

Lunette shook her head again. _'I've spent years honing my ability. Cities feel like the sun to me. All that emotional energy radiates out for miles, but I don't feel anything. It's like they're all…'_ she trailed off.

My mind completed the sentence for her. The possibility sent me stumbling back. How was that possible… I knew Reliance was insane, but that many lives… It was impossible. Besides, Monica insisted we would beat the ship here. Reliance shouldn't have even set foot in Sootopolis yet.

Hilton C-Gear began to ring, attracting our attention.

"Who are you calling?" Claire asked. Hilton frowned at the sound of her voice but didn't acknowledge her. His C-Gear rang several times before clicking to voicemail.

"Hi, Ms. Allen," Hilton said, trying to force a smile. "We came to check and make sure everything is okay, but the guards won't let us in. If you could call someone and ask them to give us a pass or let us inside, that'd be great. Thanks!" he said, clicking off the device.

"She's probably just busy," Claire mumbled, walking over to him. "She's got an entire festival to put together in a couple hours," she said, reaching out to put a hand on Hilton's shoulder. He jerked away from her touch, walking past her without a glance in her direction and up to Monica.

"You don't have any paperwork or whatever that proves you were supposed to be on that cruise ship, do you?" he asked.

Monica shook her head. "I didn't we'd need them. We're coming to save them for Arceus's sake," she said, frowning and twisting with a loose strand of copper hair that'd fallen out of her bun.

"Well, then what are we going to do?" Hilton asked throwing his hands into the air.

"I don't think we'll be able to sneak past the guards, especially not all seven of us," Claire said, beginning to pace.

"We can't just go back," Hilton said, glowering.

"Oh, I mean, if I were you, I'd think about going under," said a voice to our left. We spun around to see a familiar red-head sitting on top of a wailmer.

"Alimer," Hilton growled, practically hissing at Cyan's crony. I looked around for the ghostly woman but saw no sign of her.

"Look, they remember my name. Isn't that sweet Palmer?" Alimer asked, turning around and elbowing the purple-haired man behind him. He still wore his dark shades, but unlike usual, neither Alimer nor Palmer wore their signature Reliance hoodie, both stripped down to those black turtle necks and gray cargo pants.

"What's the matter, ran out of clean uniforms?" Hilton spat, eyes narrowed. I felt Claire step behind me, and Lunette step in front of Monica. This could get ugly, but with all of us, we might actually be able to pull it off.

Alimer ignored Hilton's venom, instead shrugging casually. "We've had a little disagreement. Reliance and the two of us," he said. Unlike Monica's natural red hair, Alimer's was fire-engine red. It stood out jarringly amongst the gray surroundings. He ran a freckled hand through it. "You could say we're bitter ex-employees," he said.

Hilton laughed. "After all you've done, you really expect us to trust you?" he said, rolling his eyes with a disgusted look on his face.

"Not particularly," said Palmer, in his cool, quiet drawl.

"Oh, I don't want you to trust me, but trust in how much I hate Reliance," Alimer said face darkening.

' _He's telling the truth,'_ Lunette said in surprise, using her psychic tendrils to read his aura. You could see his rage in the tension in his arms and jaw.

Claire crossed her arms, scowling at the newcomers. "So what do you propose? We storm in there and you warn all the Independence members that Reliance is using a cruise ship as a Trojan Horse? I'm sure they'll trust you," She said and rolled her eyes.

Alimer shrugged. "Did you have a better plan?"

Claire cast Monica a concerned glance.

"If you'll remember, Claire and Cenric are also ex-Reliance," Palmer mumbled. "Now, if we can stop wasting time," he said, pulling his shades off his face and placing them in one of his pockets, "I believe we have somewhere to be."

"You're not seriously going to believe him, are you?" Hilton asked incredulously.

Monica hummed, observing the two boys in front of us. "Claire is right, I don't think Independence will take very kindly to them. If anything, they'll be the ones walking into a trap. Besides, I think our five minutes is running out," she said, looking up at the slowly descending guards.

"Just remember, there are more of us now for once, so if you try anything…" Claire threatened, eyes narrowed.

Alimer shrugged. "Do you want our help or not? We're risking our necks for this you know," he said.

"Or at least life in prison," Palmer murmured.

"What did you do with Cenric‽" Hilton growled.

Alimer ran his hand through his hair again. "See, that's a long and interesting story that I don't think we have time for," he said, glancing up and the circling guards who were drawing nearer by the minute.

"You said we should go under. I was under the impression the caves under Sootopolis had been closed off for safety reasons," Monica said.

Alimer jumped off the wailmer onto the rock, stretching his arms before digging around in his pockets. "Yup. Too many accidents. Once they carved out that gate, there wasn't a reason for anyone to use the tunnels," he said, with his back towards us. He pulled out a mysterious device and scanned the choppy waters.

"Whatever you do, you better hurry up," Hilton grumbled, glaring at the redhead's back.

Squinting, I could see two large underwater shadows jetting towards us. This was a trap!

"Capture on!" Alimer shouted, launching a bright disk from the device he held. It plunged into the water and began to circle the dark shapes.

An antenna popped out of Alimer's devices, and he began to make swooping circles in the air with it. A trail of light followed the antenna like a comet. I gaped at the sight. The disk in the water was following the movement of his device!

The disk increased in speed until it blurred. It exploded in a flash of white light, and I threw my arms out to protect Claire, but nothing happened.

"Capture complete," Alimer said, and the antenna snapped back. He stuffed the device into his pocket and walked to the edge of the rocky island.

"What sane person would give a Reliance grunt a capture styler?" Hilton asked, throwing his hands into the air.

"We did have lives before Reliance," Palmer responded dryly.

"Which prompts the next question, what sane person let _him_ into the ranger core?" Claire responded, brushing past me.

Two additional wailmer breached the surface, spraying us with water.

Hilton groaned, flicking his arm and trying to get some of the water off.

"I'll have you know I was highly decorated before I quit," Alimer mumbled, jumping back onto the first wailmer with Palmer. "Oh, and you might want to withdraw your pokémon for the next bit," he said and gestured to the two remaining wailmer.

"You want us to dive under the city with those?" Hilton asked incredulously. "We'll drown!"

Monica shook her head. "That's how many trainers entered Sootopolis until a couple years ago. The tunnels beneath Sootopolis have air pockets along the way," she said and withdrew Altaria, Tropius, and Lunette.

Hilton started to object, but Claire just pulled him onto the closest wailmer. With a scowl, he withdrew Drifblim. I turned to Monica, scooping her up in my arms and bounded onto the other wailmer.

"Hey! Where are you going?" called one of the guards above.

"Deep breaths!" Alimer called.

Wailmer plunged beneath the sea, sending cold water jetting up my nostrils. I hugged the side of the wailmer with all my might, pinning Monica's legs beneath me. I tried to see, but the salt stung my eyes, and the water was dark and murky. My lungs began to burn.

We plunged deeper, and the water only became darker and colder. Pressure built up in my head, sending sparks across my vision. Small air bubbles trickled out of my nose, unbidden. I needed to breathe. I had to breathe!

Wailmer began to rise, but would it be fast enough? My lips parted, allowing a stream of bubbles to rocket upwards. My head broke the surface, and I gasped for air. My heart beat in my ears as I swallowed large mouthfuls of air. By the time spots faded from my vision, I looked around to see most everyone else in the same condition. The humans brushed their sopping hair out of their eyes. We'd emerged in one of the air pockets, and a low ceiling of dripping rock hung above us.

Alimer panted, looking back at Palmer. The two engaged in some sort of nonverbal communication made of glances, but I was too tired to try to decipher it. Claire held Hilton from behind like she was about to perform the Heimlich, making sure he could breathe. Monica laid her hand on my shoulder, too tired to say thank you aloud. I just nodded, and my breathing finally started to even out.

"When I say deep breaths, I mean it," Alimer managed with a laugh.

"H-How much farther?" Claire asked.

"Just one more," Palmer supplied, wiping the water out of his eyes. I don't think I'd even seen him without his sunglasses before.

"Hey, you look familiar…" mumbled Monica, cocking her head.

Palmer quickly averted his eyes. Alimer laughed, elbowing the purple-haired man.

"He's just got one of those faces," he said. "Alright, get ready guys. On three," he said. We immediately began to suck as much air into our lungs as we could

"Two."

I looked to Claire, who just nodded back to me.

"Three!" shouted Alimer, and the wailmer plunged below the surface. For several seconds I felt fine, but then the tightness returned to my lungs. I closed my eyes, hugging close to the wailmer's rough skin.

The pressure inside me increased, trying to escape through my nose and mouth, but stopped by an invisible wall. The cold water rushed past, trying to drag me off and into the dark fathoms below. Why weren't we going up yet? I felt myself begin to go lightheaded, and my grip on Walimer weakened. The pressure tore and my nose and at the back of my throat. Why weren't we going up yet? My resolved failed, and the air burst from my lungs. Cold water flooded into my mouth, I kept myself from breathing in, nearly choking on it.

We broke the surface, and I fell into a fit of coughing. Blinking, wiping away the tears and the water, panting all the while. Slowly my vision began to clear.

My mouth dropped at the sight in front of us. Sootopolis expanded out before us and up into the sky, carved into white cliffs that punctured the rolling clouds above. The wailmer had emerged in the center of the volcano, in a massive silver lake. In the distance sat an island that housed Sootopolis's gym, but the light was turned off.

Looking around, I realized none of the houses had lights on.

"Where is everyone?" Claire mumbled, absorbing the grand city.

"Shouldn't everyone be busy prepping for the Poké Festival? It opens in a few hours…" Monica said.

"Follow me," Alimer called, nudging his wailmer forward towards the bank on our left.

Our wailmer swam forward while the four of us gaped at the soaring cliffs, and houses built into them. Long staircases striped the rock face, lined with metal railings. Terraces had been carved into the interior of the volcano, making it look like a staircase for giants. Further off to our right I could see the gate they'd mentioned, but nothing could've prepared me for its scale. An entire slice had been carved from the volcano, allowing ships to enter. Piers covered the right bank, though only a few were in use. Sailboats stood motionless in the placid waters, undisturbed by wind. I could taste the salt in the air, and the humidity made every breath feel like a drink.

The only sounds that echoed off the volcano's walls were the sounds of our own breathing and the wailmer quietly passing through the water. High in the distance, I could see the guards circling, but they only looked like black specs now.

Alimer and Palmer reached the shore first. Alimer swung his leg over the wailmer, and slid off onto the bank. The moment both feet touched the shoreline, he vanished, leaving an empty space behind.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Hilton called, but Palmer slipped off and disappeared.

"Did they teleport?" Monica asked, reaching for her poké balls.

"I knew we couldn't trust them," Hilton growled as his and Claire's wailmer reached the shore. He released Drifblim, and the pokémon wrapped her tendrils around Hilton's upper arms, hoisting him off the wailmer. Claire pushed herself, squeezing some of the water out of her tank top. Wiping her hair out of her face, she jumped off wailmer's back with Hilton following close behind. They both disappeared.

' _Hilton! Claire!'_ I shouted, staggering to my feet and almost slipping off Wailmer's slick back. Monica grabbed my wrist with one hand, unclipping her poké balls with the other. Our wailmer bumped against the low outcropping of rock.

"Wait, Noël! It's probably a trap!" Monica whispered, but I shook her hand off.

' _I know! And my friends just walked right into it!'_ I shouted and jumped onto shore.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** :0c


	40. A Red Dawn

**Chapter 40: A Red Dawn**

 **(***)**

"Wait, Noël! It's probably a trap!" Monica whispered, but I shook her hand off.

' _I know! And my friends just walked right into it!'_ I shouted and jumped onto shore.

I hit an invisible wall that knocked the breath out of me. I hung, suspended in mid-air, unable to rip my eyes off the scene before me. Blurred lines jetted through the solitary buildings, and the clouds above me zoomed past at impossible rates. Visions of the past, present, and future flashed before my eyes. They started mixing in a boil of senseless colors, and loud meaningless noise rang in my ears, like someone was rewinding a VHS tape, or maybe fast-forwarding. A tight weight squeezed my head, and my heart pounded in my ears, drowning out any other sound. I heard my breathing loud, and my heart beat faster and faster, its acceleration matched only by the compression and decompression of my chest as my lungs followed suit. My heart beat so fast I thought for sure it would explode; the fast individual beats merged into a steady thrum. The colors moved faster and faster, causing strong nausea and dizziness that made me lose sense of what was up and what was down.

I collapsed to the ground as reality hit me like a train, driving air into my lungs like a hammer. I gasped, clutching at my spinning head and wishing the world would stand still. The rocky ground bit into my skin, and the thought that hit me was: I'm not wet anymore.

"I'd stay down if I were you," came a cold voice.

I looked up to see Alimer and Palmer facing us with all their pokémon released. They were ready for a fight. My stomach dropped and I gasped. Not at their predictable betrayal, but our surroundings. The buildings, the cliffs, the clouds, they hadn't changed, but instead of the ghost town from before, people covered every inch of Sootopolis. Loud shouting and the sounds of construction echoed from every direction. The chaos made me want to cover my ears. Hundreds of adults, all dressed in matching uniforms, swarmed Sootopolis's streets, pushing large carts full of poké balls.

Except those weren't the Independence volunteer uniforms.

And they weren't Reliance either.

It was a cruel hybrid of both uniforms. They wore Reliance's turtlenecks, and gray cargo pants, but their blaring orange hoodies now shone green. It wasn't Independence's airy, healing green, but a dark, militaristic olive with the Independence logo blazoned on the back. Their logo had been inverted from white to black, and now it looked more like swords than feathers. That same logo branded the large flag that whipped the air above the Pokémon Center.

"What is this?" Claire whispered, pushing herself up to her knees, and observing the surroundings with wide eyes.

I felt a thud beside me and looked over to see Monica had made the jump, looking back over my shoulder at the lake, my mouth dropped. The wailmer were gone.

"Stay down," Alimer hissed, stepping closer to his Arcanine.

"Oh, Commander Allen!" called Palmer, spinning around to call to the woman walking past several levels above us. She tore her gaze away from her tablet to look at Palmer with an irritated look.

I froze, cold hands twisting my organs. No. It couldn't be.

"Ah, yes, Hilton," she said, clicking her tablet off and turning to stare down at us. "I thought you'd be stupid enough to fall for this," she said, crossing her arms and regarding us with a bored expression.

I rubbed my eyes. I had to be seeing things. This was impossible.

"Mrs. Allen! You've got to help us! These guys are working for Reliance," Hilton shouted desperately.

"I'm aware," she said with an annoyed eye roll.

"What?" Hilton gasped. "I-I don't understand."

"Christine Allen…it can't be…" mumbled Monica. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her roll over onto her stomach, trapping her hand beneath her so she could grab her poké balls without notice.

"No! I won't believe it! You're in charge of Independence! You're the good guys!" Hilton cried, and Alimer snorted at that.

"Arceus, it's really not complicated," she mumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her blouse was black like tar, and I recognized it from our previous C-Gear calls. It was actually part of some sort of uniform. The seams were pressed sharp, and ever button on her double-breasted jacket was polished to a shine. Her pencil skirt was cut to allow her a wider range of movement, and on top of her platinum blonde head sat a glossy service cap with a silver Independence logo glinting above the visor. The lines of her face looked harsh now, like they'd been carved into granite. Crow's feet pulled at her flinty eyes, matching her frown lines.

"It's not that complicated, but… then again we did manage to fool the League for longer than expected," she said, "Not like that's hard to accomplish though," she added with a chuckle and a smile that sent shivers down my spine.

"Reliance is a cover up," Claire breathed, eyes wide. She dragged her gaze up to the Commander, who watched us in amusement.

She snapped her fingers. "Well, at least one of you has more intelligence than the average bacterium."

"That's impossible! You couldn't have kept something like that hidden for so long," Monica said, shaking her head in shock.

The Commander snorted. "It's hardly a new trick. Team Plasma masqueraded as a group of activist years ago. I just did it better. And with Tabitha and Shelly in charge of driving Reliance's mayhem, even someone like _you_ could have manipulated the press," she said with a snide grin.

"What about your niece? What about all those things you said to me at Castelia?" shouted Hilton, struggling to his feet. "Was that all a lie?"

The Commander rubbed her chin. "What did I say then…You heard the niece story, right? You should feel lucky, that was actually one of the truer stories. You've met her if I recall? Cyan was the one who captured you in the first place, right?" she asked casually, watching Hilton's mouth gape. "Oh, please. The resemblance is uncanny, but then again, I forget, you're inept," she drawled. "It's so nice not to have to pretend to like you anymore," she said, pulling her tablet back out. "Take them to the lab," she said called without looking up, waving her hand flippantly. "We'll see if Colress or Mable wants them after they're through with Cyan."

"You said if brought them here, you'd let her go!" Alimer shouted, whipping around to yell at her.

Commander Allen sighed, massaging her temples. "I _did_ think you were marginally smarter than this. I really did," she confessed, looking down at him. "My mistake," she said, directing her attention back to her tablet.

"Arcanine, Flamethrower!" Alimer shouted. Arcanine inhaled and launched a billowing jet of fire towards her.

She jumped out of the way with shocking ease. She tutted at Alimer, wagging her finger at him. With an eye roll, she looked over her shoulder, calling: "Grunts, I'm tired of Cyan's little charity cases. Take care of them too when you deal with the intruders," she commanded, before beginning to walk away.

"Hey, come back!" Alimer and Hilton shouted in unison. Hooded Independence grunts flowed down the steps towards us. Monica jumped up, releasing Lunette, Altaria, and Tropius.

Drifblim hovered next to Hilton, beginning to glow.

I pushed myself to my feet, extending my elbow blades. I focused my power into them, managing to complete Swords Dance before they made it into range. Alimer and Palmer stood in the front, and Alimer's pokémon shifted, eager for battle.

"Listen," Palmer said, twisting his head so we could hear over the noise. "You've got to stop her. She's using Dialga to hold the whole city hostage in a time bubble while she takes all the pokémon! She's keeping him at the gym, and—" but before he could continue, the first of the attacks began to rain in.

Alimer began shouting commands at his pokémon, while Palmer ducked behind his nidoking.

"Drifblim, use Ominous Wind!" Hilton called. Besides me, Lunette crossed her arms, eyes beginning to glow blue.

My chest began to thrum, and I hurled Claire out of the way of an Acid Spray. The temperature spiked ten degrees as Alimer's slew of fire-types began their attack.

A krokorok's Mud Slap sent Altaria flying past us. She collided with the invisible field that separated the shore from the lake and fell to the rocky earth. Monica gasped, turning to pound on the barrier.

"We're trapped!" she shouted over the commotion. The ground began to shake, and the loose stones rattled down from above in a rain of dust. I grabbed Claire to keep her from falling, but I saw Hilton stumble several yards ahead.

"Noël, send two blasts of Magical Leaf towards the pair of krokorok by Monica!" Claire shouted, dodging a poison spike that embedded itself in the tree behind her. I could scarcely hear her over the clamor of battle. Angry shouting echoed from every direction, and a piece of the cliff behind me exploded. I dove forward, bumping Hilton out of the way of the rocketing shrapnel. It jetted past my head, clipping my shoulder and colliding with the stunky in front of me. The dust clung to my throat, and the air smelled acrid, carrying the smell of burning flesh that stung my eyes. Bodies moved everywhere. Enemies dashed between us, pulling us apart before pushing back again, slowly pinning us against the invisible barrier. Black wind whipped up, tearing at us and obscuring my vision.

I stumbled past a mightyena and jerked forward as she snapped at my leg. I lifted my hands above my head, sending psychic energy shooting to my fingers. I took a deep breath, and flicked my wrist at the two krokorok, sending a barrage of glowing leaves after them.

A blue shield appeared around me, and I whirled around to see Alimer's torkoal casting protect, saving me from the liepard that circled the barrier.

He smirked at me, missing the golbat who was diving at him from behind.

Before I could warn him, an Ice Beam blasted into the golbat, sending him spiraling into the cliff side. Alimer twisted around to find Palmer and his nidoking covering the rear. A hoard of Reliance grunts bore down on Palmer, driving him back.

Torkoal's Protect vanished as Alimer ran to help Palmer, and the Liepard lunged at me with claws bared. Sensing her path with my chest, I whipped around, slicing his torso with my elbow blades.

"Camerupt, Rock Slide! Magcargo, Fire Blast! Arcanin-!" Alimer's orders were cut short, and I clubbed the liepard on the head before twisting around to watch grunts close in on Alimer and Palmer, blocking them from view. The cliff side shook, and I hurtled over unconscious liepard, grabbing Claire by the shirt and pulling her away from the rock face. It dissolved like water, sending a torrent of boulders collapsing downwards, burying several Reliance grunts and their pokémon, and creating a wall that separated us from Alimer and Palmer.

"Go, Noël! Psycho Cut!" Claire shouted, pointing towards the mass of grunts surrounding Alimer and Palmer. Fire erupted from the circle of grunts but was quickly quashed. I bolted towards the wall of loose rocks when five more grunts advanced over from the other side. I jumped back, sending tingling psychic power to my arms in preparation.

"Noël! The stairs!" Clair shouted, and my head snapped backward. Monica, Hilton, and their pokémon were slowly pushing their way towards the nearest staircase behind me, trying to gain the higher ground.

' _Go!'_ I shouted to Claire. _'I'll cover us!'_ I said, flicking my wrist and sending another volley of leaves towards the nearest grunt. A spray of mud knocked them out of the air, and the croagunk to my right croaked triumphantly.

Snarling, I sent another bombardment of leaves at it, leaving myself open on the left for a trubbish to barrel into my legs, knocking me over. I kicked it away, scrambling to my feet and jerking out of the path of an Aerial Ace. Seven pokémon advanced on me with their trainers following close behind. I back up slowly, holding my elbow blades out in warning.

A hand yanked me from behind, dragging me half-way up the stairs. It was Claire! A blade of air sliced towards Claire's back, but I jumped in front of her, breaking it in half with my blades. I ran up the rest of the stairs, sending another Magical Leaf down at our pursuers.

My chest vibrated, and I jumped to the side, allowing a hurricane of leaves to whip by me and down the stairs, slicing our enemies. I looked up just in time to see another Air Cutter collide with Tropius, sending the large pokémon off his feet and rolling to the side. Monica withdrew Tropius as she ran by, sprinting for the next set of stairs. I bolted past Claire, vaulting into the air and spearing the Golbat with a Psycho Cut. He fell to the ground with a thud, and I kicked him for good measure as I ran back to catch up with Claire.

Tropius's Leaf Storm faded upon his defeat, allowing the grunts from before to spill up the staircase behind us.

"Everyone get up the stairs!" Monica called ahead of me, and I grabbed Hilton by his shirt and dragged his up the second flight of stairs, collapsing on the chalky rock.

Seconds after we'd cleared the staircase, Altaria unleashed a devastating Hyper Beam, carving out the stairs and leaving a gaping hole in their place, and delaying the grunts again.

"This way!" yelled Monica, leading us down the narrow street parallel to the lower level we'd been on moments ago.

"Where did Alimer and Palmer go?" Claire shouted while running, looking down the cliffs below to see the two boys circled by grunts. All of Palmer's pokémon had been defeated, and only two of Alimer's remained. A krookodile lunged at Arcanine, who barely managed to defend against the strike. But while the duo was distracted, a garbodor struck from behind.

I gasped at the sight, but cold hands pushed me out of the way, sending me stumbling back. A spray of orange acid jetted between Hilton and I. The stray corrosive drops struck my skin, landing with a hiss and steaming. I cried out in pain, trying to wipe it off, but only spreading it to my hands.

Hilton shouted, crumpling to the stony ground and clutching his face. Growling, I sent a torrent of leaves towards the stunky to give me time to run to Hilton's side. My heart thrashed against my chest, and I breathed heavily, sucking air into my taxed lungs. I collapsed onto the ground, ignoring the burning on my chest and peeled his hands away from his face.

I took a sharp intake of breath. Arceus. The left, already damaged half of his face, steamed, and ugly tears streamed out of his right eye. He could even open the left.

Groaning, I hauled him to his feet, locking my arm around his waist and dragging him towards Claire and Monica. Drifblim followed up behind us, launching one Payback after another. The chaos rang in my ears from every direction and the ground shook beneath us.

Something flew over our head, colliding with the rock face to our left and exploding in a shower of shrapnel. I dove forward, yanking Hilton behind me out of the immediate blast zone. Claire ran up to us, wrapping her arm around Hilton from the other side and together we carried him to Monica, who was hunkered behind the Poké Mart.

Hilton collapsed to the ground, leaning his head against the Poké Mart's outer wall, tears still cascading down his face, he clutched his injury, letting out jagged sobs.

"Noël, can you try and heal him?" Claire asked, kneeling down beside us. Monica leaned out to look around the building.

"They're still coming this way," she said, stepping out into the open.

I started to rise to my feet, but Claire pulled me down. "Heal him, we can hold them off," she said, pulling herself up to join Drifblim and Monica. The shouts of Reliance grunts grew louder, and I tried to push them out of my mind and still my trembling hands. I focused my energy on my palms like I had multiple times before.

"Drifblim, use Payback!" Claire commanded.

"Altaria, use Rock Smash! Lunette, use Psychic!" Monica called in tandem.

Dragging my eyes back to Hilton, I gathered the energy between my hands until they felt like they were burning.

Something loud cracked to my left, but I ignored it, keeping my gaze locked on the expanding ball of pink energy.

' _Pull your hand away,'_ I commanded, but Hilton only whimpered. _'Pull your hand away!'_ I shouted, and the Heal Pulse wavered as I struggled to maintain it. Hilton slowly withdrew his hand, and I jerked the Heal Pulse apart, sending bright sparks raining down on his burning face. They instinctively gathered around the burn marks as if drawn in by gravity. A few stray sparks fell onto my chest, giving me instantaneous relief.

"T-thanks, Noël," Hilton gasped, blinking away the tears. I glanced back over at Monica and Claire. A volley of attacks was driving them back and away from us. I pulled myself to my feet, offering Hilton a hand. He took it, heaving himself upright before swaying, having to catch himself against the wall.

' _Stay here!'_ I called to him, running out from behind the Poké Mart.

"Not a chance!" Hilton called back, stumbling out himself.

Altaria released another Hyper Beam. It rocketed past us, pushing the grunts back several yards.

"Noël, use Swords Dance!" Claire shouted while the grunts scrambled to regroup.

"How many more of Hyper Beams do you have?" Hilton shouted over to Monica.

"As of now? One," the woman shouted back, running between Lunette and Altaria.

A jet of white smog blasting past us ended the conversation.

"Alright, Lunette, let's give 'em a show!" Monica called, throwing her left hand into the air. It began to glow fuchsia, along with the Mega Stone around Lunette's neck. The power in the air was so tangible that I could feel my ribcage vibrating with the force of it. A blinding light filled the street, and when I could finally open my eyes Lunette stood in front of me, black dress billowing behind her. She was covered in ash, her arm was bleeding, and her entire body was covered in a sheen of sweat, but she took my breath away.

"Lunette, use Thunderbolt!" Monica shouted. White sparks flowed over Lunette's shoulders and down to her hands. She pointed her open palms at a trio of approaching golbat, launching a blinding strike of lightning in their direction. The first managed to dodge, but the bolt rammed into the second and third, sending the smoking in opposite directions.

"Drifblim, use Ominous Wind!" Hilton and Claire called in unison. While Drifblim whipped up a temporary hurricane between the grunts and ourselves, we fled backward, turning the corner to find a steep ledge.

"What are we going to do?" asked Monica, whipping around to see Drifblim floating after us, and Ominous Wind already beginning to fade.

"Palmer said Allen's keeping Dialga in the gym! And I know that barrier has something to do with him! If we can free him, the barrier should go down, and he should be able to finish this once and for all," Claire shouted, pointing to the small island a hundred feet below us.

"How are we going to—" but she paused upon seeing the Reliance grunts round the corner. "Lunette, use Psychic to push them back!"

Lunette began to glow blue, and she grabbed the grunt on the end with telekinesis, using his limp body to sweep his comrades off the road and over the railing, sending them tumbling down to the previous terrace.

The remaining golbat shot a barrage of glowing stars towards Claire, but I jumped in their path, slashing each with my arm blades before they could reach her.

"Drifblim, use Gust!" Hilton shouted, but Drifblim didn't move. Purple sparks zapped to life in front of her head, followed by a black orb that expanded to the size of a basketball.

"Hilton, that's Shadow Ball! Use it on the last golbat!" Claire shouted.

"Drifblim, use Shadow Ball!" Hilton cried, and the dark sphere tore past me, crashing into the golbat and releasing a shock wave of ghost energy that caused me to stumble backward. The golbat plummeted to the ground, unconscious.

I stood in one place, panting and wait for more Reliance grunts to rush around the corner, but none came. What? I looked around. There were hundreds of Independence grunts above and below us, but none coming for us?

I looked to my teammates. All of them were covered in dirt, and their chests heaved as violently as mine. The humans' hair stuck out in every direction because of their sweat, and I saw the tips of Claire's hair had been singed off. Their clothes were torn, and their knees were bleeding.

The clouds above us finally broke, revealing a scarlet dawn that bathed the tips of buildings in a bloody crimson, dyeing the white rock red. Wait, how was it just now dawn? Everything in the city seemed to pause as if in a collective held breath. The Independence grunts watched us from a distance, never moving closer. The air smelled like salt and sweat and burnt wood. A lazy trail of smoke drifted off the unconscious golbat, catching the red dawn's light in its tendrils.

Somewhere a PA system clicked to life, echoing across the crater.

"You've put up an impressive fight, but isn't it time to face reality? We out number you fifty to one," came Commander Allen's voice over the crackling PA system.

"Why don't you come out and fight yourself instead of letting other people fight for you?" Claire shouted, voice bouncing around the empty houses.

She laughed at that, a cold, mirthless sound that sent goose bumps prickling at my skin. "It's called delegating, sweetheart," she said with a chuckle.

"Fine! Just keep sending your idiot grunts, and we'll keeping taking them out!" shouted Hilton, spinning around and trying to figure out where her voice was coming from.

Commander Allen hummed, and I could almost see her pretending to think about it, unable to keep the sly smile from tugging at the corner of her lips. "What was the name of that Latios you used to travel with? Lawton or something?" she asked, feigning innocence.

Hilton grit his teeth, clenching his fist.

"It might interest you to know we recaptured him yesterday, and it only took one of us. Pathetic, isn't it?" she mocked.

"If you hurt Lawrence I'll-!" Hilton began to shout, facing going white.

"You'll what? Pass out on me? Oh yes, Cyan told me about that little incident," she said. "Regardless, would you like to meet the person who single-handedly captured your precious friend?" she asked, and I heard the PR system click off.

A dark shape rounded the corner, haloed in crimson light.

The world stopped revolving. Time stood still.

I stumbled backward at the vision. The very impossibility tore through my chest.

"No. This can't be real…It's a trick," I mumbled, thinking for sure I'd begun hallucinating, and that the phantom would disappear after every blink.

"Cenric?"

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** :0c!


	41. The Fallen King

**Chapter 41: The Fallen King**

 **(***)**

His black hair spilled around his face, catching the red dawn. Dark bangs hung in front of dark eyes. His mouth pressed into a grim line, face stoic, but something flickered in his eyes that I couldn't place.

I took another step backward, willing myself to see through what must be an illusion. All of his scrapes and bruises from the last time we'd seen him had vanished, replaces by smooth, unbroken skin. He took several more steps towards us, and his gait lacked the limp he should have. Even his clothes were spotless.

"C-Cenric? Cenric!" Hilton shouted, limping towards the teen. "We've got to get out of here! Ms. Allen, she's-!"

"A deranged megalomaniac?" Cenric asked with a bored voice, regarding Hilton with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly," Hilton said, grabbing for Cenric's arm to pull him towards us.

"Hilton, get out of there!" Claire shouted.

Hilton turned back to look at her with confusion written on his face. Cenric raised his free hand, hitting Hilton across the face so hard that he stumbled to the side. I rushed forward, skidding to Hilton's side and hoisting him up, glaring at Cenric.

Hilton clutched his face, looking at Cenric in shock. "Wh-why?" he gasped as I dragged him backward.

Lazily, Cenric strolled after us, rocks crunching beneath his soles. "You still think we're friends?" he asked, staring at his spotless hands.

Hilton tried to reach for him, but I held him back. "Cenric, we—" Hilton started, voice cracking.

Cenric's blank face contorted into a snarl. "Don't talk to me like you know me," he spat, looking up to meet our gaze with a wildness I'd never seen from him. "You don't know anything about me," he hissed. From behind his neck sprouted orange flesh. It wrapped around his face, engulfing and warping his features. Hilton stopped dead in his tracks, mesmerized by the transformation, but I wrapped my arms around his torso and yanked him backward to Claire and Monica.

Cenric hunched over as the transformation twisted his spine. His arms split in half, lengthening and wrapping around each other to form a double helix. When Cenric once stood a deoxys floated in his place.

I inhaled sharply. The world went silent. Lazy dust clouds drifted across the road, curling in on themselves and wrapping around Deoxys as he watched us.

"Ha, I knew it had to be a trick!" Hilton cried, shattering the silence. He pushed me away to stand for himself, but Claire snatched his arm and pulled him back behind me. Drifblim, Lunette, and Altaria stepped in front of Monica to form a barrier of pokémon.

Deoxys lifted off the ground, hovering several yards from us.

"This isn't good," Claire breathed. "How are you feeling Noël?" she whispered.

I couldn't tear my gaze away from Deoxys. ' _This is insane,'_ Imumbled.

"Why would she bother pretending Deoxys is Cenric?" Hilton asked, voice hoarse.

"Hilton, that is Cenric," Claire said slowly. "It seems like Reliance perfected their process," she said, wiping the sweat from her brow with her forearm.

I swallowed hard, sending psychic energy into my arms in another preparatory Swords Dance. This couldn't be happening.

' _The psyche is the same, but there's also something else there,'_ Lunette added, watching Cenric with narrowed eyes.

"No, I won't believe it!" Hilton shouted. "Cenric would never work for someone like her!"

Deoxys cocked his head at that, and the air filled with an alien, mechanical sound. It almost sounded like…laughter?

"What are we going to do, Claire? My pokémon are meant for contests, not fighting legendaries," Monica whispered, stepping closer to Claire.

Claire took a deep breath, "Okay, let's wait and see if—" Cenric disappeared in a flash of blue light. My chest hammered, and I tackled Claire and Hilton to the ground as he reappeared above us, glowing blue. He swung his tentacles right where our heads had been, colliding with the ground and sending asphalt flying. I jumped to my feet, slicing the debris that rocketed towards us.

"Drifblim, use Shadow Ball! Lunette, Calm Mind! Noël, Swords Dance! Altaria, use Hyper Beam!" Claire shouted, rolling away from Hilton and pushing herself off the ground.

A beam of energy shot past me towards Deoxys, but he vanished and Hyper Beam tore through where he'd been and collided with the Poké Mart, and the entire building exploded in a cloud of smoke. I focused my energy on my arms again. I could feel the energy trying to explode out of my skin in every direction, but I only forced more power into the limbs until they visibly vibrated, giving off a soft glow even when I wasn't performing Swords Dance.

Deoxys teleported ten feet to our left, and Drifblim fired his Shadow Ball. Again, Deoxys teleported out of its path, reappearing to our right

"Stop, you'll hurt him!" Hilton shouted.

"Hilton he just tried to kill us! That's kinda the idea!" Claire yelled. "Noël, when you think you can get a solid hit, use Psycho Cut!" she commanded. I nodded, holding my arms at a distance as they began to glow purple.

Again, Deoxys began to glow blue, the gem near his heart pulsated with psychic energy.

Invisible coils tightened around me, crushing my ribcage and hoisting me into the air. I tried to shout, but only weak, strangled noises managed to escape my throat.

"Lunette, stop him! Use Thunderbolt!" Monica cried. Cenric's head snapped in the direction of the incoming lightning bolt, and he abandoned his hold on me to teleport out of the way. The lightning collided with a street lamp, melting the base. It swung to the ground, and the bulb shattered, echoing across the street.

We waited while the dust from the collapsed Poké Mart rolled across the street, turning red from the dawn. The air smelled like smoke and concrete. Frantically, I tried to feel out where he'd appear next.

"Don't worry, even if he is a deoxys now, he can't teleport forever," Claire whispered, slowly spinning around.

"There's no way the Cenric I know would follow someone like that!" Hilton shouted into the empty street, cupping his hands around his mouth. "She just admitted she was a liar! Whatever deal you made with her, we can help you!"

My chest vibrated and I whirled around, slashing through the empty air as Deoxys began to materialize. He saw my attack with wide eyes and managed to twist out of the way. My glowing arms sliced into his hip and crashed into the street in a shower of asphalt. Deoxys vanished again.

"Lunette, do you think you can hold him in place with Psychic long enough for Noël or Drifblim to get a hit on him?" Claire shouted.

' _I can try!'_ she called back, closing her eyes and holding her hands out above her, trying to predict where he'd be.

He appeared to our right, lifting his tentacles above him and smashing them into the ground, cleaving the street in two. I grabbed Hilton and dove forward, while Claire, Monica, and Lunette jumped back. The force of the impact shook the entire street, causing Hilton and me to tumble onto the broken ground.

I coughed, waving my arm and trying to get the smoke to clear. I couldn't see anything in the black cloud of dust. Hilton dissolved into a coughing fit, choking on the density of it. I fell forward to help him, but my chest hummed again. My head snapped up, and a dark figure loomed above us. Shouting, I jumped to my feet, crossing my arms above my head and sending psychic energy shooting through them just in time to block another super-charged strike from Deoxys.

"Why would you do this?" Hilton choked, tears in his eyes from his coughing.

"Someone like you wouldn't understand," Cenric said, voice mechanically distorted almost to the point of incomprehensibility. He twisted his shoulder back, ready to swing his powerful tentacles at us. I ducked under the strike, slashing at his abdomen with my blades. He kneed me in the face, sending me stumbling back. I felt hot blood streaming out of my nose, and I could taste the metal on my lips. When I looked up again, he'd already vanished.

An object flew through the air behind me, thinking it was another attack I swung around ready to slice into him again, but at the last minute, I extended my hand catching the sphere. My eyes widened, as the pulsating power in the air sent goose bumps up my arms and the fine hair on the back of my neck prickling. It was the Galladite.

I looked back, the dust was finally clearing enough for me to see Claire and Monica through the dust along with the gaping chasm that separated us.

Claire held the key stone in the air, catching the light of the dawn in a rainbow of colors. The stone in my hand began to glow, thrumming violently.

Deoxys appeared behind Claire, prepared to strike, but Lunette fired off another Thunderbolt, forcing him back.

Energy shot through my hands from the orb, jetting through my tired arms and up my shoulders to the back of my head. It exploded in a shower of sparks, completely whiting out my vision. I may have shouted, but I could hear anything over the sound of thousands of firecrackers going off between my ears. It was like someone had detonated a bomb. Violent waves of energy wracked the inside of my body. Blind and deaf and with sensory overload, I couldn't even tell if Deoxys was attacking me.

' _Hilton! You've got to hit me in the back of my head!'_ I screamed, hoping I'd actually managed to send the message telepathically over the chaos. I heard a distant noise that sounded like an objection.

' _Just do it!'_ I yelled, clutching my temples and falling to my knees.

My vision went black, and the energy settled. I became keenly aware that the back of my head was throbbing now. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Much like last night when Lunette had realigned my psychic pathways, I could feel everything in greater clarity. I felt Hilton's concern, awe, and exhaustion as he stood right next to me, Claire's triumph from across the crevice, Monica's fear, Lunette's determination, and Cenric's rage. My transformation into Mega Gallade had shrunk my chest fin, expanding instead on my arms. The wider surface area allowed me to sense further into the future, enabling me to whip around with enough time to evade Cenric's attack.

"Cenric, please stop this!" Hilton shouted, spinning around and searching for him in the dust.

' _Fly to the gym with Drifblim!'_ I shouted to Claire. _'Save Dialga! I think I can hold him back!'_ I said, powering up my arms and running to where I knew he'd appear next.

' _I won't leave my last pokémon to fight a legendary alone!'_ Claire said, her disdain for the idea tangible _. 'You can't hold him off by yourself!'_ she cried, desperation tingeing her voice.

Deoxys appeared and disappeared before I could land my hit. Cursing, I spun around, trying to sense for his next. _'Well, if Cenric did capture Lawrence, they might be keeping him around here! Tell Monica and Lunette to go find us some help!'_ I shouted. _'It's our only chance if we want to make it out of this!'_

' _I won't leave you!'_ she cried, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her approaching the gorge, trying to find a way to cross.

' _You have to! It's the only way!'_ I shouted, feeling the blades on my arms thrum as Deoxys began to rematerialize. He appeared on Hilton's left, and I rushed forward. Deoxys sent his tendrils snaking towards Hilton. I wasn't going to make it! I reached out and pulled Hilton's feet out from under him with telekinesis, causing him to fall and the Deoxys's appendages to swing inches above his head. Hilton collapsed onto the ground, and I slashed the air, sending Psycho Cut's slices of energy slashing towards Deoxys's torso.

Deoxys looked up as the energy blades swung towards his chest, locking eyes with me. Why wasn't he teleporting‽ Psycho Cut sliced cleanly through him, separating him at the waist, and causing his torso to tumble backward onto the ground in a spray of black liquid. My eyes widened, and I began to shake my head. My mind filled with stunned static, and my limbs felt numb as I stumbled towards him.

"Cenric!" Hilton screamed, lurching towards Cenric's severed upper body and falling in the process.

"No no no no no no no no," I whispered, pitching forward. I can't have just killed Cenric. I'd never killed anyone! I glanced backward in Claire's direction, desperate for help, but they had all disappeared.

I collapsed near Cenric's side as Hilton scrambled up from behind. The orange skin began to peel off his face, revealing Cenric's human face beneath the layer of Deoxys. He looked up at us with tired eyes.

"Cenric! You're-!" Hilton cried. "It's gonna be okay! You're gonna be okay!" he said, tears bubbling up and voice wavering. "We're gonna get you fixed up! It's gonna be okay!" he said, crawling over and dragging Cenric's lower half to rest it below his torso. Obsidian ooze spilled out onto the asphalt

"I-I-it's gonna be fine, just lay still," Hilton said, lower lip trembling. He wiped the tears away from his eyes and tried to force a smile. I watched the scene, frozen in one position and struck dumb from the shock. I couldn't have cut him in half. How was he still conscious?

"Like you care," Cenric gurgled, black blood dribbling down his chin. "You left me to die," he sputtered.

"What?" Hilton whispered, eyes wide.

Cenric rolled his eyes. "But I suppose it worked out in the end," he drawled, voice getting stronger. "Sure the woman's psychotic, and the whole "word without pokémon" idea is ridiculous, but there is one thing she's right about," he said. My arms hummed, and I gasped. I sprung towards Hilton, grabbing him by the upper arms.

The orange flesh leapt back around his face, consuming his human form, and his upper and lower halves snapped together.

"You can never rely on anyone," he said in that chilling, emotionless mechanically-warped voice. He disappeared, and I released Hilton to defend myself from his oncoming attacked, but he was too fast.

A blue aura surrounded me, crushing my ribs and making breathing impossible. He hurled me against the cliff face, where I collided with the volcanic rock. My vision went black for a moment as I crumbled to the ground. My back screamed and throbbed, and I looked up just in time to see Cenric appear again above me, ready to crush my skull.

I dove out of the way, but my injury slowed me. When his strike collided with the ground and sent rocks flying, I wasn't able to dodge the debris. A large rock clipped my shoulder, sending me flying forward.

"Noël!" Hilton shouted, falling to my side and pulling me off the ground. I stumbled to my feet, glaring at Cenric and wiping the blood from my nose.

"Cenric, how could you do this?" Hilton yelled, still clutching my arm but looking to the deoxys in desperate confusion. "What did she do to you?"

"I am free," he said, quoting the Independence slogan. "And I freed myself," he finished before disappearing.

He flashed into existence to our left, reaching out to grab me with another Psychic. I launched another Psycho Cut, hoping that having to dodge would force him to release his psychic hold on me. He flickered to the right, easily avoiding the energy blade and tightening his grip on me.

' _Noël, your trainer needs you!'_ an urgent voice rang in my head. Lunette?

' _Sorry. Busy suffocating,'_ I managed, trying to throw up psychic barriers to loosen his hold. Hilton snuck up behind Cenric, and lunged for him, but in mid jump he began to glow light blue and was hoisted into the air.

All at once, Cenric released his hold on us and we collapsed to the hard ground. Cenric whipped around and flying higher into the air. He growled, but it sounded more like a metal grating sound than the growl of a pokémon.

Blue flames shot out of the air, forcing Cenric to dodge. A blue blur flashed past him, arcing around past us to hover several yards away from where we sat.

"Lawrence!" I shouted with tears in my eyes. He looked dirty, bruised, and pissed as hell. Alimer and Palmer slid off his back in much the same condition, reaching for their poké balls to face down Cenric.

' _This purple human is moderately useful. Take him and free Dialga'_ Lawrence growled, voice low and dangerous. He never took his eyes off Cenric. Palmer, the only one of us with purple hair, glanced towards me.

' _What about Hilton?'_ I asked, putting myself between the injured teen and Cenric. ' _He's injured and doesn't have Drifblim.'_

' _I will protect him. This battle won't last long,'_ Lawrence hissed, sending ripples of psychic energy across the street.

Reluctantly, I turned to Hilton. _'Stay here and help Lawrence and Alimer beat Cenric.'_ I saw, staring into his eyes. Below the layer of grime, I could see how pale he looked. Dirt clung to his green hair, still wet from our journey to Sootopolis. Individual strands clung to his sweat-soaked forehead, and blood dripped down from his nose to his cracked lips.

He nodded slowly. "Be careful," he murmured.

' _You too,'_ I said. I needed to move, but there still were so many things left to be said. What if we didn't back it out of this? What if I never saw him again? What if-?

Latios opened his mouth and launched a Luster Purge at Cenric, who teleported away. The flash of light and subsequent destruction it caused broke into my train of though. I tore away from Hilton, grabbing Palmer by the sleeve before he could release his pokémon.

I dragged him away from the battle, though he tried to fight my grip as he looked back over his shoulder at the fight.

Deoxys teleported again, this time behind Alimer, but Lawrence threw up a Protect around him, so Cenric rammed into a wall of energy, sending him flying backward. Almost immediately, Lawrence dropped the field and unleashed another Luster Purge.

I tore my gaze away and pulled at his arm _. 'Take me to where they're keeping Dialga!_ ' Black smoke exploded from behind us and we were forced to stop at a giant fissure. _'You said they were keeping him at the gym, right?'_ I asked, scanning the layered city around us. I glanced backward, trying to gauge the success of the battle. Through the smoke I could see flashes of blue as Cenric teleported from one place to the next, unable to attack due to Lawrence and Alimer's continued assault.

"Y-yeah. It's on a little island in the lake," Palmer said, also dragging his attention away from the battle and pointing over the cliff.

' _You wouldn't happen to have a flying-type that can take us both there, would you?'_ I asked hopefully.

Palmer shook his head. "All I've got left is Banette and…" he trailed off, hand hovering over his third poké ball.

I groaned. _'So I guess we're going to have to go there the hard way.'_

"Hard way?" Palmer questioned, raising a thin eyebrow. "What do you—hey!"

I bent down and hoisted him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Put me down!" he growled. I backed up, staring at the fissure with narrowed eyes.

"There's got to be a—Arceus!" he shouted.

I sprinted towards the crack, vaulting over it and landing on the other side in a cloud of dust. Without stopping I ran to the end of the street. The plateau ended with a steep ledge that was fenced off for public safety. I ran faster, sprinting towards the fence.

' _Arceus, I need you to come through for me, just this once,_ ' I mumbled.

"Wait! Stop! You're gonna kill us!" Palmer shouted, twisting his torso so he could see that chasm we hurtled towards.

I leapt over the railing, hot air flowing past my body as I plummeted downwards, and my stomach jumped into my throat. I collided with the rocky slope with such force that it brought tears to my eyes. I ran down it as best I could with my injured feet. Every stride was like falling ten feet. Palmer thudded against my back, shouting curses I'd never heard before. My cape fluttered behind me, catching the sunrise's scarlet rays.

My first step onto the flat surface caught my body by surprise, and I tumbled forward, Palmer spilling off my back and onto the grass. Thank Arceus the shoreline around the lake was softer than the cliffs that surrounded it.

I rolled onto my back, staring up at the circle of sky, rimmed by the volcano's maw. The clouds had frozen in place, and the sky had stayed the same shade of crimson for the last ten minutes.

"Don't you ever do that again," Palmer hissed, rolling onto his stomach and pointing an accusatory finger at me. His hands trembled.

' _Wait,'_ I gasped, still trying to control my breathing. _'If the gym is on an island, won't the barrier be in the way?'_ I asked, twisting around to look at the placid shoreline and the invisible wall it held.

Palmer shook his head. "It's made from Dialga's power," he gasped. "They figured out how to separate spaces and hold them in time," he said, gesturing to the city around us. "Only the Commander decides who comes in and who goes out."

' _How does that help us?'_ I asked with a scowl, pushing myself up into a sitting position.

"The barrier extends around the shoreline," he said, pointing to the opposing shore, and following it with his finger around the circumference of the volcano. "But it cuts across in front of the gym so the scientists can easily travel back and forth," he explained, running a hand through his knotted hair. Small cuts marred his dirty face, and I could see a bruise blossoming on his temple, even below his indigo bangs. I'd never really seen Palmer up close before. He was always wearing those dark sunglasses and hanging back behind Cyan.

Frankly, he didn't look like a Reliance grunt in the slightest. His calculating eyes were set high above dark, angular cheeks and below thin brows that were usually raised in bored skepticism. His thin mouth twisted into a frown as he looked over my shoulder and at the small island that housed the gym.

"I hope you have a plan," Palmer mumbled, pushing his bangs out of his face.

I swallowed hard, glancing back at the island. _'I was hoping you'd have one…'_

 **(***)**

Lawrence circled around the ruined Poké Mart, grinding his teeth. His head felt hot, and his blood boiled. How could he have ever trusted Reliance trash? Cenric flashed behind him, but Lawrence was prepared this time. He inhaled an enormous gust of air before whipping around and spewing blue flames at the deoxys.

Cenric barreled out of the way, but Dragonbreath clipped his shoulder, sending him spiraling backward.

Lawrence snarled, preparing himself to jet towards him, but a stream of fire hit Cenric from behind. His eyes widened as he flew forward, propelled by the flames.

"Arcanine, use Crunch!" Alimer called from the ground. Lawrence could hardly see the red human through the fog of dark smoke. Arcanine leapt out of the blackness, jaws open and exposing rows of razor sharp teeth.

Cenric whipped around, striking Arcanine with his tendrils and sending the fire-type crashing into the cliff wall. Growling, Lawrence prepared to launch another Dragonbreath while Cenric was distracted, but Cenric flashed out of existence again.

Lawrence cursed, trying to sense Cenric's psyche. But the moment Latios finally zeroed in on it, something hit him from behind with bone-breaking force. Latios shot to the ground, crashing into the broken street with a deafening crash and an explosion of rubble.

He yelled at the hot pain as the rocks bit into his chest, but even worse was the numb sensation that spread across his lower back. Lawrence knew that wasn't a good sign. Metallic blood pooled in his mouth.

"Lawrence!" he heard Hilton shout from somewhere in the smoke. He groaned, desperately willing the boy to shut up and stay hidden. He couldn't protect him like this, and he wouldn't have Hilton's blood on his hands.

Cenric floated down before him, landing without a sound on the cracked asphalt and towered over Latios with narrowed eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lawrence saw Hilton come staggering through the smoke. He accessed the remains of his psychic power, telekinetically throwing Hilton backward and away from Cenric. Hopefully, he'd figure Hilton wasn't worth the effort.

' _Stay there,'_ Lawrence commanded Hilton before looking up to face his attacker. Cenric watched him silently, dull eyes scanning the damage he'd wrought. The gem in his heart flashed fuchsia, pulsating like a heartbeat.

"Well, finish the job, Cenric. Plunge the dagger a little deeper," Lawrence hissed, glaring up at the human-turned-deoxys with all the venom he could muster.

Cenric began to glow blue. He raised his tendrils above his head in preparation for the finishing strike.


	42. The Fallen God

**Chapter 42: The Fallen God**

(***)

Palmer and I paused near the gym door, dripping from our swim.

I could feel the energy humming in the air, vibrating every atom in my body. It rippled outwards in smooth waves, passing evenly through solid walls and air. The clouds above us jerked forward than backward. My stomach fluttered nervously. I was exhausted, my muscles ached, I was low on energy, and I was about to have to fight who knows how many grunts without Hilton, Claire, or Lawrence to back me up. Even worse though, was the notion that Dialga was chained inside. If we messed this up… I glanced upwards at the red clouds stuck in flux. Chills wracked my spine as I fully realized the potential consequences. We turn to dust in a second or grow backward until we vanished from existence.

Arceus, why did it have to be Dialga? Couldn't independence have taken Shaymin instead?

Wringing his shirt out, Palmer turned to me. "Alright, Wallace's gym actually has two levels," Palmer whispered, combing his wet bangs out of his eyes. "The last I saw, Independence grunts had completely rooted the place and set up a makeshift lab to contain Dialga," he mumbled.

Something exploded in the distance, and my head snapped back, scanning the layered cliffs that towered above us. Black smoke billowed out from high above us. I clenched my fists with wide eyes. Wasn't that where Lawrence and Hilton had been? I should never have left them!

Palmer noticed my concern but didn't offer any encouragement. His mouth just twisted into a frown, brows knitting together. He turned back to the door. "Most of the people in there should be scientists, but…" he trailed off, massaging his temples in frustration.

' _But what?'_ I asked, eyes narrowing.

"It's possible the Commander, and possibility Mable and Col—no… she had a fight with Colress, so it's probably Mable," he mumbled, rubbing his chin.

' _Wait,'_ I growled, _'You mean to tell me not only are they containing Dialga, but they're also experimenting on people in there?'_ I asked, second away from strangling the human. _'And my trainer could be in the middle of it?'_

Palmer cocked his head, looking at me in confusion. "You mean you haven't figured out why Independence is experimenting on trainers yet?" he asked, trying to decide if I was serious.

' _Because they're a bunch of insane psychopaths_ _?_ _Honestly, we were always too busy fighting you or running from you to put much thought into it,'_ I growled.

"Independence—no, Commander Allen specifically hates how dependent humanity is on pokémon. She sees them as a danger and a crutch to our progress as a species," he explained quickly.

' _That's ridiculous! Humans wouldn't be anywhere without pokémon!'_ I cried in outrage. _'We power your cities and stop natural disasters and—'_

Palmer waved his hand, silencing me. "I know, I know! " he whispered. "And she knows humanity right now couldn't function without pokémon. Independence's big new alternate energy source is _humans_ ," he stressed.

' _What in the world is that supposed to mean? What does this have to do with trying to fuse humans and pokémon? That sounds like the last thing she'd want,'_ I cried, throwing my hands into the air.

"You still don't get it?" Palmer sighed in frustration, running a hand through his tangled hair. "She wants to give humans pokémon abilities. Once humans have all those magical abilities, what would we need pokémon for?" he hissed.

' _That's impossible! It'll never work!'_ I growled.

Scowling, Palmer reached down and yanked one of his pants legs up, exposing his dark calf. A three-inch wound, surrounded by oozing puss and red swollen skin marred his side. I balked at the putrid wound, taking a step back out of shock before my face twisted back into a frown. What did that have to do with—I paused. Eyes wide.

' _Castelia,'_ I murmured, mesmerized by the wound. _'Back in the desert…'_ I whispered, looking up from the wound to Palmer in awe. That night when he was escorting us to the base and Hilton's hand started to glow. He'd stabbed Palmer in the leg. At first, I'd just written it off as part of the hallucination that followed, but…

"Why else do you think Independence tried so hard to recapture Hilton? Because he was a slightly successful experiment," Palmer said, yanking his pants leg back down over the wound. "But she doesn't need him anymore. They've been trying to perfect the process for years, and the finally figured out how."

I stumbled back in shock, leaning against the wall of the gym to support myself. _'Wait,'_ I whispered, looking up to him. ' _You're saying there are Independence grunts out there who already can breathe fire and shot lightning bolts?'_ I gasped. _'She's making an army of super soldiers to get rid of pokémon,'_ I breathed. _'How in the world could you follow someone like that?'_ I asked, backing away from him. Sure pokémon were often more powerful than humans, but none of us had ever tried to commit xenocide.

"You think I knew about her plan when I signed up?" Palmer hissed.

' _You've been following her orders for how long?'_ I asked, feeling my face grow hot. I grit my teeth, stepping towards him.

"Did you not just see her set her grunts on me and Alimer? Now that she has Cyan locked away, she doesn't have any reason to keep us around," he growled, not backing away from my accusations.

I snarled, beginning to object, but he silences me by throwing his hands into the air.

"We can debate "could haves" and "should haves" all we want after we free Dialga," he said, reaching for his remaining poké ball. Banette materialized to my left, sending a chill of ghost energy through the air. I shuddered, closing my eyes and willing my consciousness to expand, consuming the building before us. An impenetrable wall of energy slammed into me, sending me flying backward.

"Arceus, what happened?" Palmer asked, rushing to my side and helping me up.

Groaning, I shook off his hand and rubbed my sore backside. _'Dialga's power is too strong, and I don't have my fairy immunity anymore. I can't sense who's in there,'_ I finished.

"Well, what choice do we have?" Palmer asked, stepping back towards the door with Banette trailing close behind.

I stepped in front of him, extending my elbow blades. With a deep breath, I yanked on the handle, flinging the door open.

The sight of the gym a paralyzed me, and I stood in the doorway, trying to absorb the chaos with wide eyes. The ground floor of the gym had been gutted, exposing the hidden basement below, and allowing room for the draping coils and expansive machinery that'd been shoehorned into every inch of available space. Humans in white lab coats ran every which way, papers flying from their hands and into the air as they rushed to save all they could from the ongoing battle.

Angry shouts and the hum of machines filled the gym along with an angry crackling sound that was deafening. The air smelled like gasoline and smoke and came in such a powerful combination that your first instinct was to stop breathing entirely. Every breath sent burning gasses down my throat, making my eyes sting and beginning to water. Harsh fluorescent lights hung above us, left swinging by the battle and making the entire world seem like it spun beneath us.

The pulsating power came in strong bursts, and you could visibly see it as it passed, making the world distort and twist like a heat haze. The strength of it overloaded my systems, disorienting me and making me feel like I was about to vomit or explode.

Fifty yards from me on the opposite end of the gym stood Dialga on some sort of platform. Red chains snaked around his body, keeping him pinned to the ground. Large tubes hung from the ceiling and were connected to him on various points. They flowed upwards, filled with blue energy—Dialga's power—and into two large tanks to the left and right. Humans clustered around Dialga and the tanks, managing the hundreds of other machines attached to the containers.

"What have they done," I whisper, staring at Dialga from across the room. My entire body refused to move, going weak beneath me.

Palmer shouted something, brushing past me and spiriting to my left. I blinked, breaking the mesmerizing hold Dialga had on me and looked to the left.

"Claire!" I screamed and took off after Palmer.

My trainer pressed against the corner of the gym, only Drifblim between her and the steadily advancing Commander Allen, who left a charred and smoking path of destruction in her wake. Where were Monica and Lunette‽

"Banette, use Will-O-Wisp!" Palmer shouted as I passed him. Banette sucked in air and fired several blue fireballs at the Commander. She paused, looking over to us with a wicked grin. She jumped backward in a blur, holding her hand out. White lightning materialized from it and shot towards us.

Shouting, I dove forward while the lightening jetted over me, singeing my back with its heat and colliding with the gym's wall in an explosion of rumble. A stray piece smashed into Palmer's face, sending him flying backward and I saw a flash of shining crimson on his face before he fell.

I jumped in front of Claire, slicing the debris with my arms before it could crash into her.

' _You didn't tell me she gave herself powers!_ ' I screamed at Palmer, who writhed on the floor several yards away, clutching his face.

"Noël!" Claire shouted in relief from behind me. I kept my eyes locked on the Commander, who watched us with amusement.

"We've got to free Dialga," Claire hissed. "It's the only way we can make it out of here! We've got to get closer."

I snorted at that, wiping the sweat and dirt off my face. 'Where's Monica and Lunette?' I asked. Commander Allen glanced over to Palmer and laughed, dusting off her uniform.

"Palmer. What a pleasure. It'll be a delight to finally be able to finish you off," she said with a laugh, advancing on the fallen human.

"They went to go free some of the townspeople," Claire whispered to me. "Listen, while she's distracted, you launch a Psycho Cut, but make sure to get out of the way so Drifblim can follow up with Shadow Ball and I can make a run for Dialga," she whispered. I nodded, taking a step towards the blonde woman.

Banette jumped in front of his trainer and begun to form a Shadow Ball between his palms. The Commander scoffed, and with a flick of her hand released another bolt of lightning that sent Banette flying into the pit to our right.

"You're a monster!" Palmer managed, pushing himself up. He pressed his blood-soaked hand against his dripping face.

I snuck forward, letting psychic power imbue my elbow blades.

The Commander laughed, raising a hand and pointing it at Palmer in preparation to leave him a charred husk.

Shouting, I slashed the air, releasing crescent shaped blades of psychic energy at her exposed back.

The Commander whipped around, ducking beneath the blades and shooting another bolt of lightning at us. Claire spirited along the wall towards Dialga and Drifblim fired a Shadow Ball at the Commander's exposed side.

She twirled out of the way with ease and spirited forward to intercept Claire. Drifblim sucked in an enormous amount of air before expelling it in a hurricane of black wind. I held my hands up, barely able to keep my balance in the storm. I launched a volley of glowing leaves, hoping they'd combine with the storm of extra power. Drifblim's storm tore into the machinery, and several shining shields popped up around them as the scrambling scientists tried to protect years' worth of work.

The wind howled, and I could barely keep my eyes opens, but in the middle of the murky vortex, I saw the Commander standing with her arms crossed. The wind lessened before swirling into oblivion. Magical Leaf collided with Ms. Allen, but the leaves bounced off her, fluttering to the floor before disappearing.

My eyes widened.

She was toying with us.

"Come now, Claire. Part of being a successful trainer is knowing when you're outmatched," the Commander called, striding towards Claire. Claire paused, glancing backward at Drifblim and me.

"Noël, use Psycho Cut! Drifblim, Shadow Ball!" she yelled, slowly backing away from the approaching Commander towards Dialga.

Every muscle in my body ached, and even lifting my heavy arms was a trial, but I forced power into them. Drifblim expanded again, preparing to fire another Shadow Ball.

The Commander laughed, splaying her arms out and letting white sparks flow over her shoulders and down her arms before pointing an open palm at each of us.

(***)

Cenric watched Lawrence's crumpled form before him, inwardly scoffing. How could he have ever been afraid of someone so pathetic? He let power flood his arms until they thrummed with energy and glowed blue. Superpower would be enough to finish off the excuse for a legendary, and Alimer and Hilton would fall shortly after.

Cenric glanced back down to Lawrence, who hadn't moved from the crater he'd made in the middle of the street. Taking him out the second time was nearly as easy as it'd been the first, and back then he was still fighting the deoxys symbiont's consciousness. He'd squashed it like a bug beneath his thumb, completing their fusion.

Power surged through his limbs, begging to be released. Even after his spar—if you could call it that—with Noël and the other pathetic pokémon, the urge to destroy, to release the buzzing power that constantly put him on edge, persisted.

Despite his tumultuous new waves of energy, his mind was perfectly clear. Everything seemed so obvious now. His muscles were relaxed, but on edge. Poised to contract at any moment. He knew was he was going to do, and for the first time in his life, he had the power to accomplish it with ruthless efficiency.

He sensed Hilton nearing, but Latios threw him back. Some sort of desperate gesture to save that waste of carbon. Lawrence had never tried to save him, but that was because he was just Reliance trash, wasn't it?

He raised his tendrils above his head, letting his skin warp and morph from tentacles to arms, allowing him to make fists.

"Well, finish the job, Cenric. Plunge the dagger a little deeper," Lawrence spat.

Cenric didn't bother with a response, instead swinging his hands down with apocalyptic force that'd probably finish destroying the block.

Inches before his fist could crush Lawrence's skull Arcanine barreled into his side like a freight train, clamping his jaws around his waist. If he'd had a mouth, and involuntary scream would've torn from it, but he stayed mute as Arcanine sprinted towards the wall of razor-sharp volcanic rock.

Pushing the pain aside, Cenric focused his psychic power near his heart, letting it squeeze and compress his body until he slipped out of Arcanine's jaws and vanished from existence. He willed himself to appear back at Lawrence's side.

He heard Arcanine slam into the cliff and looked up to watch him bounce backward before collapsing to the ground, unconscious. Satisfied that the fire-type would remain neutralized until he had the opportunity to finish him off, Cenric redirected his attention to Lawrence. His eyes widened when he saw Alimer crouched at the legendary's side, trying in vain to drag him to safety.

"Amazing…" Cenric drawled, voice sounded out with those alien undertones that even he wasn't used to.

Alimer regarded him with wide eyes, and the amount of fear radiating from his bruised frame gave Cenric a sick satisfaction. Alimer's hands shook, reaching for the poké balls that weren't there.

"What's amazing?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even. It was a lame attempt to buy time. Maybe he was hoping his Arcanine could recover from crashing into solid rock at seventy miles per hour.

Cenric flicked his hand, letting it separate back into two tentacles. Alimer followed them with his eyes, a bead of sweat dripping down his nose. Lawrence watched from behind, snarling at Cenric.

Cenric almost laughed at the pokémon's fury. Had he always been this predictable? Ignoring Lawrence, he focused back on Alimer, throwing a tentacle forward and wrapping it around Alimer's neck, hoisting the boy off the ground.

Alimer writhed, clawing at the noose around his neck and making strangled noises.

"Amazing," Cenric repeated. "That you're actually capable of some sort of compassion. Funny though, that you'll help an enemy before you'd help a victim of your own actions," he hissed, tightening his grip. Alimer's face grew pale, and his grip on Cenric's vermillion tentacle began to loosen.

' _Cenric, stop this!'_ Lawrence shouted, trying to push himself up with his feeble arms. With narrowed eyes, Cenric stepped forward, pressing his foot down on the crown of Lawrence's head.

A heavy weight slammed into him from behind and arms wrapped themselves around Cenric's neck in a strangle hold. With his two left tentacles, Cenric easily pried Hilton's weakened frame off, dragging him off his shoulder and suspending him next to Alimer.

"Cenric, don't do this!" Hilton gasped.

Cenric did laugh at that, an unnatural humming sound that sounded more machine than organism. "I seem to remember you and your friend slicing me in half not too long ago," he said, cocking his head and tightening his grip further.

Hilton gasped for air, and Alimer went limp, eyes rolling back in his head. The past was going to die today.

(***)

Drifblim launched a gust of wind that rammed into me, sending me flying backward and tumbling onto the ground as the lightning bolt passed a foot from my face, blinding me. Blue spots obscured my vision and a crawled my way along the ground, trying to rely on my powers to sense the Commander's position.

Through eyes blurred from tears, I looked up, finally able to make out fuzzy shapes. Claire ran for Dialga while Drifblim launched another Shadow Ball.

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and my head snapped back to see Palmer pulling at my side, other hand still pressed to his face.

"Go, I-I can hold her off," his whispered voice hoarse.

' _You're delusional,'_ I coughed, trying to stand to my feet. My face stung where the lighting had passed so close to it.

"No," he said, reaching for his final poké ball. "Just help your trainer," he whispered, managing to climb to his feet. He threw the last poké ball into the air, and a small figure appeared, floating in the middle of the field. I gaped at the pokémon, temporarily forgetting my aches and pains as the levels of psychic power in the room shot even higher. I looked between the pokémon and Alimer with shock. Ahead of us, the Commander paused, distracted by the movement and glanced backward. Immediately she turned from Claire and Drifblim, regarding us with a furious expression.

' _How did you manage to catch Jirachi?'_ I whispered, watching the legendary yawn, stretching his arms.

"I knew it!" screeched the Commander, pointing an accusatory finger at Palmer. "Cyan tried to protect you, but I knew!" she spat, arrogant smile a distant memory.

'Why didn't you use him earlier‽' I asked throwing my hands into the air.

"Go!" he hissed, pushing me forward towards Claire and Dialga.

"Jirachi, use Cosmic Power!" Palmer shouted behind me, but I didn't look back. The room flashed and boomed as Commander Allen shot another lightning bolt at Palmer, but I just focused on Claire, who was battling with the hoard of scientists that surrounded Dialga.

My heart pounded as I neared, chest heaving. I barely had the strength to move my limbs, but I didn't have a choice. I wished I could stop and heal myself, but as a golbat slipped past Drifblim's defenses, I just didn't have the time.

Powering up my arms, I shouted, jumping up from behind Claire and slashing at the golbat. It went spinning back, before returning to its trainer.

"Stop! If you rupture the tanks you could kill us all!" shouted one of the scientists over the chaos.

"Drifblim, use Payback! Noël, use Magical Leaf!" Claire commanded, ignoring the scientists' pleas. I sent another barrage of leaves at the hoard of scientists, pushing them back several feet as the leaves sliced into their skin, causing them to cry out. They reached for their pokémon, but because of how close we'd corralled them, they could barely move their arms, much less withdraw their pokémon.

Drifblim expelled another black hurricane, whipping the air and pushing the lab-coated humans back even further. I stood in front of Claire protectively, trying to shield my eyes. I saw a figure in the corner of my eyes and jumped in surprise. Cyan hovered two feet away, close enough to touch Claire's shoulder and frozen in the air.

Psychic power rushed to my arms as I lunged forward, but Claire's rough hands caught me.

"She's trapped! Look!" Claire shouted over the wind screaming in our ears. My mouth hung loose as I examined Cyan. She hung back within the first of two layers that shielded and trapped Dialga. The woman hung suspended in mid-fall, with a look of surprise on her face, platinum blonde hair flying past her face and catching the blue lights that flickered above. Her chest didn't move, and she stared blankly into space. It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce what had transpired. She'd been pushed from the platform above.

Just as Drifblim's Ominous Wind faded, a lightning bolt crashed above our head from Palmer's battle, colliding with the containment device on the ceiling and exploding in a shower of smoke and sparks. An angry alarm blared, filling the gym with red light.

"The primary barrier is destabilizing!" shouted one scientist.

"It's gonna take out half of Sootopolis!" screamed another, clambering over his colleagues to escape. All at once the scientist who would've died to protect their work moments ago were sprinting towards the exit.

I looked to Claire, fear blaring as loud as the sirens. _'We need to get out of here!'_ I shouted, stepping towards her to carry her out.

"We've got to save Dia—" Claire paused, glancing back at the wavering barrier. With a loud crackling sound, it vanished, and Cyan continued her fall backward, landing on the floor.

She rubbed her back before looking up. Her eyes widened upon seeing us, flicking between both our faces.

"How long was I out?" the woman finally asked.

"Hell if I know," Claire growled. My arm blades began to glow violet, and I stepped past Claire and towards Cyan. It was time to finish this.

"Wait!" Cyan called, and the emotion, however little, in her voice was the only thing that paused me. "I want to help," she said, face returning to its perpetual blank state.

Claire snorted. "Don't make me laugh, Cyan. You've always been a lapdog. Take her down, Noël," she commanded.

' _With pleasure,'_ I said, preparing to slash the air and send psychic blades cutting through her.

She lowered her head in resignation, glancing up one last time. Her eyes strayed past us to the middle of the gym, where Palmer and his Jirachi fought the Commander.

"Palmer," she breathed, eyes wide. She glanced up at me, that hint of desperation returning. "His Jirachi won't be able to combat her for long. She's fused herself with Thundurus," Cyan said quickly, looking back to the battle. As she finished her statement, Commander Allen's arm glowed white and she swatted Jirachi out of the air like a gnat. The small legendary shot through the air, smashing through the wall and breaking through it.

The Commander fired another blast of lightning that struck Palmer directly in the chest. He stumbled back, collapsing to the ground, and didn't move again. The siren continued to blare, and the Commander's head snapped towards us.

"Get away from there!" she snarled, running for us with inhuman speed. Cyan pulled herself to her feet, and I paused, unsure whether to attack her or the approaching Commander.

"Go, Frosslass!" Cyan shouted, tossing a poké ball through the air.

Her froslass materialized and the temperature dropped, sending shivers down my spine.

"Frosslass, use Ice Beam!" Cyan shouted.

"Noël, use Psycho Cut! Drifblim, use Shadow Ball!" Claire added shortly after.

Groaning, I tore myself from Cyan and launched the energy waves at the Commander instead. She dove out of the way of Frosslass's Ice Beam, but Drifblim's Shadow Ball clipped her shoulder, sending her stumbling back.

"Again!" Claire and Cyan shouted in unison.

I tried to force my power back into my arms, but I couldn't. I tugged and dragged on it, so tired, injured, and desperate that it almost brought me to tears. Drifblim fired another Shadow Ball, and Commander Allen ducked out of the way.

' _I'm out of juice!'_ I called back to Claire, feeling panic start to sink in. Frosslass shot her Ice Beam, but without my Psycho Cut to force the Commander into the path of the attack, she dodged it easily.

She growled at us, raising her arms and letting loose sparks flow over them. Her hair began to rise like gravity had been switched off, but it was just the static electricity building. "That's Charge!" yelled Claire, taking a step back. "Noël, Drifblim, you can't let her next Thunder hit," she said, panic fueling her voice. Electricity from the machines jumped towards her, until waves of crackling electricity covered her body, focusing on her arms and hands.

"Take a good long look," the Commander growled. "Because this is the last thing any of you will ever see," she said and launched the biggest lightning strike yet.

Screaming, I grabbed Claire and Drifblim and jumped aside while Cyan threw herself in the other direction. The bolt collided with the machinery behind us, causing a violent explosion and the sound of shattering glass. The room filled with acrid, black smoke that made breathing impossible. We tumbled to the floor, and I pressed my body over Claire while the glass shards rained down on us. After the last shards feel, I pulled myself off so we could scramble upwards. The Commander looked between us and Cyan and her Frosslass, deciding who to eradicate first.

Cyan looked at us with wide eyes, mouthing something. What? Before I could extend my telepathy to ask, Cyan pushed herself off the ground.

"Lie to yourself all you want, Aunt Christine!" Cyan shouted, cupping her hands to her mouth. The Commander rounded on her, drawing electricity to her hands again. What was Cyan doing?

"I know the real reason you hate pokémon!" Cyan continued over the blaring sirens and whining machinery. "It's because you could never become a pokémon trainer yourself!" she shouted with the most emotion I'd ever heard from her.

"She's distracting her," Claire breathed and turned her focus back on me. "Noël, I need you to try to conjure up another Psycho Cut. Magical Leaf won't work," she whispered.

"I knew I should've killed you before!" the Commander called, closing in on Cyan. "You're just as worthless as your mother!"

"Is that why you're so jealous of her?" Cyan shouted.

I looked back to Claire, bathed in crimson because of the sirens. My ears rang from all the noise, and my nose and throat burned from the chemicals and smoke. _'I can't! I just don't have the strength!'_ I insisted.

"Yes, you do! You're stronger than you know, Noël!" Claire hissed, pushing me forward. "You've got to do this!"

Clenching my fist, and stepped closer, carefully avoiding the coils of cording and lose objects scattered across the floor.

"You're just a sad ex-Rocket grunt who could never readjust to society!" Cyan shouted, backing up to the wall.

I crept closer, now only three yards away from the Commander. I willed my heart to slow and my breathing to even. I dug back, grasping at whatever remained of my psychic power. Several sparks remained. Hardly enough for even simple telekinesis.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. No! I had to do this! But it wasn't enough! Ignoring the voice of reason, I wrangled every last spark of power I had in my, sending the weak trickle down to my arms and letting it settle in my blades. It hummed weakly.

The Commander closed in on Cyan, driving her into the corner without an escape. Frosslass lay several feet away, unmoving. The older woman lifted her hands, letting the electric current arc between them with a loud crackling sound.

Everything rested on me now. I focused on my blades, straining with everything I had to force my energy into them. All the pain I'd endured the last weeks. All the bruises and tears. All the pain of seeing the people I loved get hurt because of this woman's superiority complex. All the anger and rage from the past several weeks came flooding back to me, my tears of desperation became tears of anger. My body grew hot, and my head felt like it was on fire. The blades on my arms began to thrum, pulsating with renewed energy.

The Commander began to bring her hands down, ready to fry her niece. I shrieked, slicing the air with my elbow blades. The slivers of powers spun through the air, and just as the Commander whipped around, they cut through her side, sending her staggering over, screaming.

"Frosslass, Ice Beam!" Cyan shouted, and her Frosslass popped up from her fake unconsciousness, launching an Ice Beam. It struck the Commander straight over her heart. Ice grew over her skin, encasing the woman in a solid glassy block. I heaved, lungs unable to suck in the amount of air I needed. We watched the Commander. Waiting for her to summon more lightning and finally killed us all. She didn't move. Not even a pinky finger.

I sunk to my knees in exhaustion, looking from Cyan to Claire. Was it over? Was this really finished?

The siren's blared again, and a mechanical voice rang out, "Containment field breach. Self-Destruction imminent. Please find the nearest evacuation route," she read.

Claire walked up to me, steps slow and labored. With equally strained-steps, Cyan and Frosslass joined us.

"What do we do?" Claire shouted over the noise, looking from Cyan to Dialga. He was still pinned down on the platform, eyes closed. "The scientist said it was going to explode," Claire continued. "How can we save Dialga?"

Cyan stared at the contraption that contained the time god.

"I might know how," she murmured, staring at the blue, pulsating energy.

"What do we need to do?" Claire asked, running a hand through her charred hair.

Cyan turned her gaze back on us, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "This isn't your mess. You've got to get as far away from here as you can," she said.

"Field breach in 30 seconds," said the mechanical voice above the harsh alarm.

"What?" Claire asked. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"26"

"25"

"24"

"Just go!" Cyan shouted pushing us away. "Get them out of here Frosslass!" she yelled, bending down and picking up a length of broken pipe, heading for the tank on the left.

Claire paused, looking conflicted, but I grabbed her and ran. My legs shook with every pounding step, and my arms trembled beneath Claire's weight.

"13"

"12"

"10"

Drifblim's tails wrapped around me, pulling me off my feet and towards the exit. We burst through the door, blinding by the dawn's light. Drifblim took off, flying higher and farther away from the gym across the lake.

"What if she can't-!" Claire started, but the gym exploded behind us. A blue shockwave knocked us out of the air, hitting me light a freight train before smashing the wind out of my lungs. We fell through the air, probably screaming, but all I could hear was ringing. I broke the surface, plunging into the cold lake.


	43. A Conclusion

**Chapter 43: A Conclusion**

 **(***)**

Cenric squeezed Hilton and Alimer, pressing his foot down on Lawrence's head. Hilton still clawed at his tentacles, but Alimer swung limply.

"Are you pleased, Lawrence?"Cenric sneered. "Now I'm the monster you always wanted me to be."

Lawrence began to growl, but Cenric pressed down harder. Lawrence didn't stop, instead, he began to glow with a faint blue aura.

Cenric's eyes widened, and he released the two boys and favor of finishing off Lawrence, but a tight psychic grip wrapped around his torso, flinging him up into the air.

"You thought I'd stand by helplessly and watch you kill them?' Lawrence hissed, pushing himself off the ground and hovering several inches above it. His eyes began to glow blue, and his psychokinetic hold tightened, squeezing Cenric's torso with bone-crushing force. He tried to slip out of the hold with Teleport, but Lawrence held him firm.

Impossible! Lawrence didn't know Psychic! Before Cenric could mull over this revelation further, Latios tossed him into the cliff side repeatedly. Smashing him again and again. Cenric closed his eyes and tried to curl into a ball. His regeneration was fast, but not fast enough to recover from every slam that sent rocks cutting into his side, breaking blood vessels, slicing tendons, and pulverizing bone.

Cenric wanted to scream in agony as fire ate away at the left half of his body, and every collision sent a wall of black to temporarily consume his vision, but he couldn't. His howling anguish echoed inside his head, bursting at his throat.

Something boomed in the distance, and he opened his eyes in time to see a massive shockwave hit him, blowing straight through his chest and causing Lawrence to release his grip.

Cenric flew back, skidding on the asphalt before rolling to a stop. He looked up, already feeling his wounds begin to heal. Up above the clouds raced by in a blur. The bloody dawn vanished revealing gray than blue skies. The clouds slowed then seemed to jerk to a stop. Hundreds of helicopters and flying pokémon materialized above Sootopolis. He heard commotion from all around him as the Sootopolis civilians were released from their prison in time. A chaotic uproar filled the volcano. Angry shouting. Scared screaming. Sobbing. The people and helicopters above began to descend.

That barrier was down. Anyone who'd previously been trapped outside could enter, and vice versa. All the captured trainers, citizens, and Hoenn gym leaders were probably loose now. He pushed himself up to a sitting position to see a mammoth cloud of black smoke consuming the volcano's center, emanating right where the gym should be.

Hilton was helping Alimer breathe, while Lawrence had been thrown to the ground again from the shock wave. They hadn't yet turned their attention back to him. Cenric rose to his feet, and jumped into the air, zooming past his fallen enemies towards where the gym had been.

He had to destroy whatever was left.

(***)

We fell into the icy lake with a hard slap. I sank beneath the surface, and my body convulsed as I tried to reteach my neurons which muscles to innervate. Hot fire filled my lungs, and I clawed at the water, pulling my way towards the light. I threw my head above the surface and gasped for air, struggling to keep myself above water. I looked over to see Claire, treading water and watching the sky with wide eyes. I looked up and almost choked.

Clouds sped past the volcano's mouth like someone had pressed fast-forward. They sped to a jarring halt, making my head spin. Little black dots flew inside the volcano, but my mind was too hazy to try and decipher the meaning of it all.

"T-take us to land!" Claire shouted to Drifblim, but over the ringing in my ears, she sounded distant and muffled. Drifblim slowly rose above the water, covered in ash and scrapes. She looked half as tired as I felt.

He hovered over to us, allowing Claire and me to grab her tails. As I reached for her, I saw my own arm and noticed that my Mega Evolution had faded. I also filed that away under "things I'll think about when I'm not about to collapse and drown from exhaustion". Drifblim, too weak to fly, towed us through the water towards the former gym island, and Froslass floated close behind. The gym was a pile of charred and burnt rubble now.

Drifblim brought us to the island, dragging us on shore before floating to the ground and staying there.

Claire coughed, expelling the excess water from her lungs before pushing herself onto her knees. "C'mon, Noël," she said, voice hoarse and offering me a hand. I took it, limbs shaking. My entire body felt like it had weights attached to it, and even the smallest of movements took an enormous amount of strength.

"Well, we're still here, so Dialga must be okay," Claire mumbled with a tired smile. I didn't even have the strength to laugh.

We stumbled through the once doorway and found ourselves faced with a giant crater near what used to be the center of the gym. Not a sign of Dialga or Cyan remained.

A sound between a laugh and a sob escaped Claire's lips as she stepped into the crater, hurrying down the side. In my state of exhaustion, I didn't feel compelled to follow her. It was an empty crater, and I knew I wouldn't have the strength to climb back out if I entered.

Something orange streaked above us with a gust of air. It arced around before slowing to a hover.

My eyes widened, and I gasped, feeling my stomach grow cold. It was Cenric! And if he was here did that mean… I stumbled back, collapsing onto a pile of twisted metal at the possibility.

Was he here to finish us off too? I was barely fighting off sleep at the moment. Cenric's tentacles morphed into hands, and he extended his hand towards the piles of ruined machinery to my left. His frame glowed blue, and so did the machines. He clenched his fist and they lifted into the air. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed them into the lake where they sank with a hiss. I frowned in confusion. At least he wasn't here for us, but what _was_ he doing?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something else flying towards us. I glanced upward and with a cry of delight that sent tears to my eyes, I witnessed Lawrence soaring towards us with humans on his back. It was Hilton and Alimer. Oh, thank Arceus! I felt a sharp pang in my sinuses.

Cenric whipped around as Lawrence rocketed past. Alimer shouted something and released his Arcanine in mid-air. The fire-type collided with Cenric, and then plummeted to the ground, landing on a pile of twisted metal. Arcanine pinned Cenric against the metal, tearing into him with his jaws.

Lawrence landed between myself and Cenric, allowing Alimer to jump off and Hilton to slide off. Hilton's legs collapsed beneath him, and he crumpled to the ground.

I pushed myself off the metal and ran towards Hilton while Lawrence and Alimer ran towards Cenric.

"We're not done yet!" Alimer shouted, and Lawrence roar something in agreement.

Arcanine grabbed hold of Cenric's left arm in his powerful jaws and ripped it off, flinging it backward over our heads.

A blue glow surrounded Arcanine, and Cenric threw him into the air and off into the crater.

"Arcanine!" Alimer shouted, jumping towards the lip of the crater, but a flash of vermillion shot in front of him, blocking his path.

Cenric hovered in front of him, black blood pouring onto the ground like oil from his empty shoulder socket. He snaked his arms around Alimer's torso, dragging him into the air.

"You know what they say," Cenric said, cocking his head. "An eye for an eye," he hissed, pulling at Alimer's arm. The boy screamed, writhing in Cenric's grip. "It's too bad I regenerate," Cenric added, and out of his empty socket two tendrils grew, also wrapping around Alimer.

I jumped up from Hilton's side, but Lawrence was faster. As Lawrence rammed into Cenric's chest, Alimer's arm tore out, flying to the left. The red-head collapsed to the ground, screaming and clutching his empty shoulder.

Cenric, with one last burst of strength, propelled himself backward, out speeding Lawrence and freeing himself. Taking one last look around at us, he jetted into the sky. Lawrence started to chase after him, but Claire called out.

"Lawrence! We need you to take Alimer to the hospital or he'll bleed out!" she shouted, running to Alimer's side. He convulsed in the dirt, covered in his own blood. Claire reached us next, pulling off her vest and shoving it into the wound to clog the bleeding.

' _We can't let him escape!'_ Lawrence snarled back.

' _Lawrence, please!'_ I pleaded. _'You can fly as fast as a jet engine. Where ever Cenric goes with a fifteen-minute lead, you can find him!'_

"And I'm sure there's plenty of information Alimer has that the police would like to know about! He could be the key to bringing down whatever is left. You've got to think big picture!" Claire added.

' _Fine,'_ Lawrence growled, lowering himself down to our level. _'Five minutes. No more.'_

"Noël, go grab his arm!" Claire commanded, turning to Alimer who was still writhing in pain and screaming. Lawrence flew down, hovering next to us.

"I've got it," came a hoarse voice, and Palmer walked up, bleeding, covered in ash and holding Alimer's detached limb.

"Arceus," Claire mumbled, looking at his burnt and torn clothes.

"Speak for yourself," he said with a weak smile. "I can take it from here," he said, bending down next to Alimer. Together he and Claire lifted the shouting red-head onto Lawrence's back, and Palmer jumped on afterward. He leaned over Alimer, securing him in place and keeping Claire's vest on the wound. Blood had already soaked it through. Alimer's chest was heaving, and sweat poured down his face, mixing with the tears.

"Just hold on, we're getting you to the hospital," Palmer mumbled to Alimer.

Lawrence took off, soaring up towards the cliffs. I sighed in relief, leaning back and looking to Claire with an exhausted smile on my face.

' _I'm not sure you'll want that vest back,'_ I said.

"Sage will be so upset," Claire breathed, her frowning returning at the mention of her missing sibling. Her brows pressed together in worry. I scanned the sky for Lawrence, but he'd already disappeared into the sea of pokémon flying into and out of the city. I heard sirens and watched the lights flash blue and red. It wouldn't be long before people followed the trail of black smoke here.

"Where's everyone else?" Claire asked, voice rough and tired.

I looked around the smoking rubble. ' _Well, Drifblim's resting back on the shore, Frosslass is over there,'_ I said, pointing to the ice-type that floated over the wreckage like a ghost. _'Alimer, Palmer, and Lawrence just left, Monica and Lunette are somewhere in Sootopolis helping, Cyan, Palmer, and the Commander got caught in the explosion I think, and Hilton—Arceus, Hilton!'_ I ended in a shout, jumping up and running back to where I'd left him.

' _The whole Alimer thing, and I just forgot!'_ I shouted, sliding next to Hilton and collapsing to my knees. Claire fell onto his other side, leaning over him.

Chills wracked his body, but his face was flushed and covered in sweat. Claire rested her hand on his forehead.

"He's burning up!" she gasped, looking up at me with wide eyes. "We need to get him to the hospital too!" she continued, trying to keep her voice steady and failing. She rubbed the grime off her forehead, looking back down to Hilton and back to me. "Can you call Lawrence back?" she asked, eyebrows pressed in concern.

Hilton watched us through watery eyes, chest heaving. He broke into dry coughs, and Claire tugged his torso upwards, rubbing circles in his back. I hovered by his side, hands fluttering aimlessly over him. What could I do? Lawrence was too far out of range to contact and Drifblim couldn't move another inch. Would we have to wait until the police came?

Claire opened her mouth, beginning to speak when an explosion of wind blew us to the ground. Power erupted like a shockwave, sending me gasping for air.

In the center of the crater to our left, space itself ruptured, like a piece of wallpaper peeling off, exposing another world of darkness and stars. A twenty-foot-tall dragon stepped out of the fissure, releasing an unearthly shriek that pierced the air, reverberating throughout the volcano.

I gasped. My brain screamed to avert my eyes and shield myself, but I couldn't rip my eyes off Dialga's mammoth form.

His horns, spines, chest plate, and back fin seemed to be made of some ethereal metal, that reflected the sun at unnatural angles and showed colors that weren't there. The blue gem on his chest plate swirled with colors, and if you looked hard enough, you could almost pick out spiraling starry universes among the gaseous clouds. The gem flashed with every beat of his two hearts in a rhythm that seemed more machine than organic. The web of black veins under his navy skin writhed and pulsed with his hearts and with the flow of time itself. His lighter blue markings glowed, otherworldly rectangular patterns drifted in them, like a vision into another dimension.

The air around his body swam and shimmered like a heat haze; the effect was strongest around his chest and back fin, seeming to refract and distort the light in a way that it almost looked like…faces…were appearing in the mirage. Doing something? Saying something? I shook my head, trying to clear the visions from my brain. That didn't make any sense.

He wasn't something that belonged in our world. The dirt where his feet touched the ground was going through its lifecycle thousands of time faster than normal. Or was it going backward? It grew grass that sprouted long, died, decayed, and burst forth from the ground again. Everything on the island seemed unstable now as if one small move could cause it to vanish from existence, which was probably true. The constant thrum of power pulsated in our ears.

Dialga shrieked again, releasing a burst of energy that knocked me to the ground. The charred rubble around us vanished along with all signs of the gym's burned out structure. Long grass sprouted under out feet, bursting forth from the sand and growing wildflowers. The crater filled itself, bringing Dialga up to our level.

"I was wondering when you'd arrive," Dialga spoke in a deeply godly voice that vibrated my chest.

"Dialga! I thought…" Claire trailed off, looking up at the time god with tear-filled eyes.

"A mistake on your part I assure you," he added casually. I scowled at him. Arceus, I forgot how annoyingly condescending he could be.

"Dialga, Hilton's dying! There's got to be something you can do," Claire begged, looking back down at the wheezing boy. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. She looked back up to him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Can you just reverse time on him or something?" she asked, voice shaking.

Dialga examined Claire with red eyes that held the entire universe inside of them. He stepped forward, shaking the ground beneath us, revealing a prone figure previously hidden in the shadow of his body.

Claire gasped, and I jogged past Hilton to examine the body. I locked my arms beneath her torso, dragging her out of Dialga's shadow and into the light where we could see her plainly.

It was Cyan.

In a sense.

Her clothes fit loosely around her, and she appeared several inches shorter. Tangles of platinum blonde hair surrounded her rounder face.

"She looks so much younger," Claire breathed, leaning over to examine Cyan further. She transformed from a woman in her mid-twenties back to early or mid-teens. The shallow, but steady rise and fall of her chest assured me that she wasn't dead.

' _You didn't happen to save…'_ I trailed off, unable to complete my question because of the sour taste it left in my mouth.

"Christine Allen?" Dialga asked, cocking his head. "No. I did not," he said, and I could detect the slight venom in his booming voice.

"So if you changed Cyan, does that mean you can save Hilton?" Claire asked, hope lighting her tired eyes.

Dialga stretched his neck, yawning. "Perhaps. Though admittedly the girl's transformation was more of a side effect of the explosion. She still hasn't awakened yet, so it is difficult to judge her remaining mental facilities. I can attempt to reverse time on his body, however, his mind may return to the same state as before, and he may forget all of this," Dialga said, pawing the ground in disinterest.

Claire and I looked at each other with pained expressions. We'd each grown to care for this Hilton. The Hilton who risked his own safety to protect his friends. Who worked hard and grown to be conscious of others. The old Hilton was none of those things. He was lazy and oblivious and dangerously delusional and had put both of us in harm's way. It took him being kidnapped, experimenting on, then fending for his life to snap him out of that. If we lost the current Hilton, we'd probably never get him back.

Claire turned from me and looked to Hilton. His mutation permanently marred the left side of his face with peeling indigo scales. It twisted his nose and mouth until they lost a majority of their function, and weighted his brow until it dropped over his discolored eye. The right half, although still stained with indigo blotches, was deathly pale and covered in dirt and sweat. His breathing was fast and shallow, every breath accompanied the hissing rattle of his lungs.

Claire looked up at Dialga with a pained expression. "It doesn't matter. He'll die if we don't do something," she said.

' _Can we take him to the hospital?'_ I asked hopefully, but Claire shook her head, pushing Hilton's sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes.

"It could take years for the doctors to figure out how to undo this if it's even possible. They've never had to deal with something like this before, and he's dying _now_ ," she stressed.

I frowned, looking at Hilton's feverish face. It was true. The last time we'd been at the hospital, all they could do was run tests and monitor him for changes. They might be able to keep him with us for a couple more days, but we needed divine intervention.

Dialga cracked his neck, staring down at Hilton unimpressed. "I can attempt it, but you'll have to stand further back. It would be unfortunate for one arm to be years older than the other," he remarked dryly.

With a last anxious look at Hilton, Claire picked herself up stepping several steps back. I walked to her side, taking her hand in mine. She glanced at me, not even bothering to hide her distress.

I wanted to assure her, but words escaped me. Instead, I just squeeze her hand and turned back to Hilton. Dialga stepped forward, again causing the ground to tremble. He leaned over Hilton, closing his eyes. The metallic fin on his back expanded, causing massive ripples in the air that distorted the space around it, warping time like a black hole warps space. Even I could feel the time stream's ebb and flow now. The blue diamond on his chest glowed blindingly. It burned and singed my retinas, printing the temporal rift in my brain.

Hilton began to glow, his form reduced to a silhouette that held flowing universes and glowing stars. His gaunt limbs filled back out, and his perpetual hunch faded. Dialga's radiating power attacked my brain like a sand blaster, making the world spin. I felt weak at the knees, and my breathing sounded in my ears.

The glow around Hilton began to fade, and Dialga stepped back to admire his handiwork. Hilton, as he'd appeared weeks ago, lay before us. His green hair was dry and free of sweat. It surrounded his round face. His average, 100% human face.

We stumbled to his side, collapsing onto our knees. Hilton groaned, slowly opening his eyes. His two, perfectly normal, green eyes. Claire and I collectively held our breath, waiting and watching.

With squinted eyes, Hilton scanned us, brows crashing together in confusion. My heart sunk.

"What happened?" he mumbled rubbing his eyes. "I don't—Holy-!" Hilton jumped, scrambling away as he spotted Dialga towering behind him.

"Hilton, do you know where you are," Claire asked quietly, calling towards where he now sat.

He tore his gaze from Dialga, looking at Claire with confusion. "We're still in Sootoplis, right?" he asked, peeking around Dialga at the buzzing city.

Claire gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

'Oh thank god!' I cried, throwing my arms around him and failing to stop hot, wet tears from leaking down my face.

"Noël? What's wrong? What happened?" Hilton asked, looking around at the flat island, filled with wildflowers.

"We thought we were going to lose you…" Claire admitted with a sigh of relief.

"Lose me?" Hilton asked, scrunching up his nose in bewilderment. "What happened? Did I fall off Lawrence or something? Where is he anyways? What happened to Cenric and Alimer?" he asked looking around. His frown deepened. "Wasn't this the island where the gym was?"

' _It was your mutation. You were on the ground and you couldn't breathe, but Dialga cured you,'_ I said.

Hilton inhaled sharply, eyes dropping down to his left arm. He held it in front of him, examining the smooth skin. He twisted his wrist and bent his elbow to their full extent. He ran his hands over his face, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I can't believe it," he whispered, voice wavering. He looked up at Dialga. "Thank you," he managed, voice cracking. "A-All this time I tried telling myself that being stuck like that wouldn't be so bad," he managed through sobs. His face grew red as tears and snot dribbled down his face.

Dialga puffed out his chest, tilting his head high into the air. "It is amazing, isn't it? I've never actively tampered with the time of selective organic material rooted to a linear timeline, but it proved to be much easier than expected. Child's play compared to the complexities of the trans-dimensional time stream," he said, rambling on.

' _Does this mean you can heal everyone like that?'_ I asked. _'Couldn't you just roll back time and prevent all this from happening?'_ I said, the possibilities buzzing through my mind.

Dialga regarded me for a moment before answering. "I'd prefer not to, seeing that every attempt I make to change the time stream could potentially result in it becoming unstable and imploding, erasing billions of lives and ending the universe as we know it. But something this minor rarely has galactic repercussions," he said.

I frowned at that. _'Wait, you_ _ **knew**_ _?'_

He nodded once. "If you recall, Claire met me originally several years ago, but I have yet to make that trip," he began.

' _So you figured if you still existed in the future…healing Hilton wouldn't destroy it, otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to make that trip?'_ I concluded, frowning. Arceus, time travel gave me a headache.

"More or less. It's also why this Reliance business never concerned me. If I knew this would have ended badly, I just would've slipped out of time and prevented it in the first place. Because it did happen, I knew it would end relatively well," he said.

I groaned, rubbing my head. Apparently "relatively well" had a different definition in his book than mine. There were still a lot of people hurt by Independence, and still a lot of mess to clean up. But, I suppose it could've been much worse if we hadn't managed to stop Ms. Allen and free Dialga.

"Speaking of, perhaps I should make that jump now…" he mumbled, pawing the ground in thought.

A wave of exhaustion passed over me, and I collapsed onto the soft grass, laying the warm wind caress my tired limbs. Everything was finally over.

Hilton turned to Claire, face still a mess from his tears, and threw his arms around Claire in an enormous hug that sent them both tumbling backward. They landed on the sand with a roar of laughter.

I grinned at their antics, too drained to join in myself. I plucked a white flower, holding it in my open hand until the breeze carried it away. It was finally finished. We were free.

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** Mmm and with that the main story comes to a close. There's just an epilogue left, so have your champagne bottles primed. Thoughts? Quite a few loyalty switches in the finale, some for the better and some for the worse. We got to see a little more of Cyan and co, the Commander's inane plan was revealed and foiled, and we finally met Dialga. Oh, and of course, that whole Cenric business.


	44. The Beginning

**A/N:** I'd like to take a moment and thank everyone who stuck around on this journey with me, whether you read it in a day or over several months. It's really amazing to finally be finished with a story I've been working on for years, and there are a whole lot of emotions that are swirling around in my tired head right now. But that's not really important, is it? Without further delay, the final installment in _Of Ralts and Gallade_.

 **Chapter 44: The Beginning**

 **(***)**

I walked through the busy hospital hall, holding two bouquets of flowers in my hands. Nurses passed me by, either too preoccupied with their own thoughts to acknowledge me or giving me a polite smile before heading on their way. Now that I was approximately human-sized and Hilton wasn't afflicted with a life-threatening mutation, hospitals didn't seem so bad.

I followed the numbers outside the rooms, watching them steadily decline as I progressed. I felt the corners of my mouth slip downwards as I remember the events of the past few hours, but I forced a smile. After the League freed the legendaries Independence held captive, Lawrence had finally been reunited with his sister after over a year apart. He'd stopped to stay goodbye before they left. He was going to hunt down Cenric.

"338, 337, 336," I hummed to myself, passing the hospital rooms. Trainers and citizens recovering from the battle occupied most of them. All the mutated trainers had been shipped back to Castelia for further study and treatment.

Colress, who upon discovering Ms. Allen's true intentions, offered her his resignation letter, had agreed to help research a way to reverse the effects in exchange for a lighter sentence. With his assistance and the recovered DNA splicers, the lead researchers were hopeful a cure could be found within the next two years.

"321," I said, stopping by the door at the end of the hallway. A police officer hovered outside the door, watching me suspiciously. I tried to step past him, but he blocked my way.

I inwardly groaned. I _could_ communicate with him via telepathy, but I hated opening my mind to strangers. It made me feel unclean. Like shakings hands with a stranger and then eating finger food afterward.

I lifted my bouquets, hoping the guard would understand the gesture. Without taking his eyes off me, he knocked on the door. "You know a gallade?" he called.

"Does he have a crack on the back of his head?" asked a muffled voice from the inside.

Scowled, I twisted around, letting the officer inspect my injury.

I heard the door click open, and I slipped past the guard into the hospital room.

"Where's your trainer?" Palmer whispered from the armchair. The skin peeking out from his ivory suit was covered in bandages, and his dark purple hair was slicked back neatly. He looked about as far from a Reliance grunt as possible and more like the missing heir to a multi-million door steel company that he was.

Alimer slept in the hospital bed, bandages around his neck that covered the dark blue-black strangulation marks left by Cenric. Hilton had received the same treatment. Alimer's freckled face looked pale, and the sleeve in the hospital gown where his arm should've been was empty.

A younger Cyan sat huddled in the other chair, holding a steaming coffee cup in her trembling hands. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun, exposing her pale face and the dark circles beneath her eyes. Though her largest visible injury was a Band-Aid across her nose, she still had the hospital bracelet wrapped around her wrist.

Now that the connection had been drawn, I could see the relation between her and Christine Allen. It was something in the eyes and their matching hair color. A key difference, however, was that Cyan was alive, while her aunt had been blown into smithereens when Dialga's second containment field blew.

I handed the first bouquet of flowers to Palmer, who reached over and put them on Alimer's nightstand.

' _Claire and Hilton are out trying to find Claire's siblings and her other pokémon, so they sent me,'_ I said.

"Has the League hunted down Cenric yet?" Palmer asked quietly, and I saw Cyan stiffen out of the corner of my eye.

I shook my head. _'Last I heard they were still looking. They think he might've left Hoenn already,'_ I said, recalling my last conversation with Maylene.

Palmer sighed, rubbing his temples.

' _Why would he run? Did he not want to go to jail?'_ I asked quietly. The question had pressed heavily on my mind since the event occurred.

Palmer had already explained what Christine Allen did to Cenric at Claire and Hilton's request, then again to the police. He talked about the how she wormed her way inside Cenric's head. Convinced him he was alone in the world and would need power to help himself since no one else would.

The reason for the Commander's obsession with Cenric in was that his particular gene makeup was the only one they'd found compatible with the Deoxys symbiont. If Reliance wanted to use the fragment of Deoxys they'd acquired years ago, they needed a willing host. Even so, on the battlefield, it seemed like Cenric still didn't owe his allegiance to Independence or Reliance. He was fighting alone. I guess in that way, Ms. Allen's ideology backfired. In the end, she never got her obedient toy soldier. She got a stick of dynamite instead.

"Why did Cenric leave?" Palmer repeated, chewing the question in his mouth. "Why would he stay? He'd just have to face the consequences of his actions. He'd have to stare people like Lawrence in the face and say 'you were right about me'. His attachment to the deoxys symbiont is the one thing that allows him to remain free, and he doesn't want us to take it away from him. Plus the whole life-in-prison thing," he added as an afterthought.

Cyan frowned, tightening her grip on the mug.

"I wanted to help him," she murmured, barely audible. "Every time I saw him, I wanted to. I couldn't—she wouldn't—" she broke off, hands trembling and looking paler than usual. "He was in so much pain for so long…" she whispered.

Palmer tried to calm her with several hushed reassurances, while I looked around awkwardly.

' _So the police officer,'_ I finally broached, gesturing with my head to the closed door. _'Is he to keep people out or keep you in?'_ I said, finally asking the question that'd been on my mind since I saw him.

Palmer grinned at that, reclining back in the chair with both hands on the armrests like it was a throne.

"Both I think. In a couple days Cyan and I are supposed to help the League disassemble the remaining bases. Should help lessen our sentences," he explained, before looking over at Cyan. "Lucky for them," he said, pointing at Cyan and Alimer, "Because our trial's taking place in Hoenn, they get to be tried as minors," he said.

' _What's going to happen to you?'_ I asked quietly.

Palmer shrugged. "I suppose that's up to the courts to decide, but my father's already hired some of the best defense attorneys in the world. As for Alimer and Cyan…Ah, leave it for the lawyers to figure out," he said, waving his hand.

I looked over to Cyan, who was rubbing circles into the side of her mug with her thumbs, staring blankly into the murky liquid.

Sensing the atmosphere, I decided to take my leave and continue on. Palmer thanked me for stopping by, and I exited out the door. To my surprise I found the police officer missing. Frowning, I looked up and down the hall without spotting him. I reached back to close the door, but the sound of soft murmuring caused me to pause.

"The grunts are going to be especially dangerous now," came Palmer's low voice. "And some of the admins are still free. They've been betrayed by their leaders twice now. This is far from over," he said.

Cyan hummed in agreement. "We have a lot of work to do," she finally said, voice raw.

"What are you going to do about Alimer?" Palmer asked gently.

I knew I shouldn't be listening to this, but my hand hovered over the knob, and I just couldn't bring myself to pull the door closed.

"What do you mean?" Cyan asked, voice barely audible.

"You know how he feels about you now," Palmer said.

Cyan was silent for a moment before responding in a wavering voice. "I've known for a long time. Even when I was…" she paused, "like that, I could still read emotions, I just didn't feel anything. What she did to me-Palmer, it was horrible," she whispered.

I heard Palmer shift, probably walking over to her and planting himself on the armrest.

"It's alright now though. It's all over. She can never do anything to you again," he hummed.

"I'm falling apart, Palmer," she whispered, voice breaking. "I'm angry, happy, sad, excited and terrified all at once. I almost wish I didn't feel anything again," she said so quietly I could barely hear her.

Palmer didn't respond.

"Thanks," Cyan added after a pause.

Palmer hummed in question.

"For those six years you stayed with me even though I was an emotionless monster. Without the two of you, I'd—" she choked up.

I heard the sound of movement again, and silence fell for a moment before Palmer broke it. "It's good to have you back after all this time," he murmured.

"Yeah," came a choked reply. I spotted the police officer coming back down the hallway and decided it was time for me to take my leave.

The summer sun leaked through the large windows, and I strolled leisurely through the halls. The League and various volunteers were still trying to reunite separated trainers and pokémon, but since Reliance had operational bases outside of Sootopolis, it might take several weeks. Still, Claire was hopeful that'd she find the rest of her team along with her siblings in the sports stadium where all the refugees were supposed to meet. She'd joked that now that Dialga was gone, she finally had that last space in her team back.

The idea of going back to Sunyshore to train for the gym battle seemed strange to me now, and I got the feeling that Claire felt similarly. She'd mentioned now that we weren't fighting for our lives, we might as well explore Hoenn. Hopefully, now that the captured legendaries had been freed, the weather would return to normal.

I stretched my arms, counting the numbers on the door again. I paused in front of one and after straightening the bouquet, I knocked on the door.

It opened inwards, and Lunette stood in the doorway, bathed in the summer light that filtered through the window. I felt my face grow hot, and she giggled, knowing exactly why. I shoved the bouquet forward.

"These are for your trainer," I mumbled, averting my eyes. She took the flowers with a quiet laugh and a knowing gleam in her eye. Monica sat in the hospital bed with her arm in a sling, a tanned man sat beside her in the hospital chair.

"Afternoon, Noël, thank you so much for the flowers!" Monica said with a wide smile, receiving them from Lunette and smelling them deeply. "Lilies are my favorite," she added, placing them on her lap. "We were actually just talking about you," she said, looking towards the man. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said quickly. "Noël, this is my husband, Lewis. He was one of the people trapped in Independence's time field," she explained gesturing to the man.

' _It's nice to meet you,'_ I said, shuffling awkwardly.

"The honor's mine. I can't thank you enough for stopping that crazy woman," he said, shuddering.

I shrugged _. 'Claire, Lawrence, and even Cyan and her friends did the most. I just kinda hit stuff when people ask me too,'_ I explained in embarrassment.

' _Don't sell yourself short,'_ Lunette scolded.

"Well, Noël," Monica said with a grin, "My husband and I have been considering moving back to Floaroma Town," she explained. I looked between the red-head and Lunette with wide eyes.

"Monica needs time to recover, and she says being back with old friends would help expedite the process," Lewis said, rolling her eyes with a smile on his face.

"Stop," Monica said, batting his knee playfully. "We've been talking about moving back for a long time, but now just seems like a good excuse," she explained. "Besides, then you and Lunette would be neighbors," she added, grinning mischievously. I stiffened, and I heard Lunette giggle from behind me. Maybe things wouldn't be so peaceful after all.

Hurriedly, I excused myself. I walked down the bustling hospital halls until I reached the elevators. My stomach clenched at the sight and that in conjunction with the waiting crowd was enough to convince me to take the stairs.

The clean stairwell was vacant, leaving me alone with my thoughts on the way down.

The League was still in chaos, but after Palmer, Cyan, and other Independence grunts came forth to name names, the traitors were being picked out. As it so happened, Pryce had been one of them, which accounted for the way he mysteriously vanished when his house came under attack by grunts who knew exactly where we slept. He'd probably never relayed our information on Reliance to the League then either. I sighed. It wasn't worth getting angry about. He was scheduled for trial in several weeks, and both Claire and Hilton would probably testify.

Hilton, because Dialga had essentially reverting time on his body to several weeks ago, didn't have a single injury from the battle. Unfortunately, Dialga could do nothing about his poor eyesight, which was apparently genetic. Claire, in her graciousness, had already helped him schedule another appointment with the optometrist for a new pair of glasses.

Claire herself hadn't gotten off uninjured, but after some quick initial treatment and some stitches, the hospital kicked her out to make room for their influx of patients. She was due to get her stitches out in three weeks, and though I ignored most of the doctor's jargon, I did distinctly hear the phrase 'expected to make a full recovery'.

I reached the hospital's ground floor, pulling open the door to walk across the lobby. Nurse Joy healed all my injuries in a matter of minutes, all except one. Since the fragments of my broken skull plate healed over during the evolution process, there wasn't much she could do.

My powers would never work flawlessly. My psychic power would be unruly, and my grip on telekinesis and telempathy ranged from weak to nonexistent without Lunette's intervention.

Claire asked Dialga to help me the same way he helped Hilton, but the time god explained that since it was a brain injury—unlike Hilton's malady that was everywhere except his brain—that reversing my time would definitely result in memory loss.

I pushed open the door of the hospital, stepping out into the sunshine and breathing in the fresh, salty air. I refused Dialga's offer, unwilling to pay the price.

I liked the person I'd become, even if I had to go through miles of hell to get this way. In the end, I was happy and confident in who I was, and my friends were finally free. I grinned at the gulls flying overhead. What else could I ask for?

 **(***)**

 **A/N:** Thanks for hanging with me, guys! I hope it was worth it? Make sure to tell me what you thought of the ending!


End file.
